


CROOKED ROT

by WarioGirl



Category: Slipknot (Band)
Genre: Alternative Universe (STALKER!AU), Creepy, Cruelty, Dangerous Obsession, Dark, Dark Romance, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gen, Horror, Inspired by Prosthetics, NSFW, Nightmare Fuel, Obsession, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Personality Swap, Psychological Drama, Rough Sex, Sex Toys, Stalker, Stalker Corey Taylor, reader discretion advised, sex store, sick, this story is probably gonna be weird and creepy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:40:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25409329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarioGirl/pseuds/WarioGirl
Summary: AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE FROM 'INSIDE THE (SIC)NESS' SERIES.Corey Taylor had felt like he had never existed in Des Moines, Iowa. He had always been the reject in every romance, the joke of every party, and left out to wallow in his own sorrow. Never really having any emotional attachments towards another person, he simply drifted day-by-day working at the sex store......then when Sallie Knight entered his workplace one day, he develops feelings for her so vividly, it's almost terrifying......almost obsessively...
Relationships: Corey Taylor/Original Female Character(s), Corey Taylor/Sallie Knight (OC), IOWA (Personality)/Sallie Knight (OC), Jim Root/Liv Sady (OC), Mick Thomson/Barbie Kitsu (OC), Sid Wilson/Harper Smith (OC)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 32





	1. The Lament of a Lonely Man

**Author's Note:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTE:-
> 
> Hello my lovelies, and welcome back to another silly fanfiction written by me. Based in an AU that I got a little too excited over. So I wanted to have a play with this. The Stalker!AU. This is NOT part of the 'Inside the (SIC)Ness' series. 
> 
> DISCLAIMER:-  
> This, as with ALL works, DOES NOT REFLECT ANY EXISTING PERSONS. This is merely a work of absolute fiction and should be treated as one. All Slipknot members are not defined by this, they are merely used as a work of fiction and written fictionally. 
> 
> THEY DO NOT REFLECT THEM AS PEOPLE. PLEASE REGARD THIS AS A WORK OF FICTION, I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!
> 
> This is written by a dumbass with a stupid active imagination and a sick head that wants to explore other darker themes as a writer. No, I do not condone ANY of these acts that will progress in the story. 
> 
> I just set the challenge for myself to work on something different alongside 'INSIDE THE (SIC)NESS', and wanted to explore a far darker Corey/IOWA. 
> 
> Please enjoy! Thank you~!
> 
> ~Wario-Girl
> 
> **BEAUTIFUL COVER ART BY @SUPERTRACPAC**

** A Stalker AU **

** **

#  ****

** **

**Des Moines, Iowa**

Within the darkness, nothing moved.

For what seemed like forever, nothing was touched. Nothing within the containment of this area had been tampered with for several weeks.

But all was about to change on this faithful day. Beyond the darkness, there were dull footsteps, increasing in tempo, approaching the darkness, and soon blinding sunlight filtered through as the door opened, and an exhausted man peered through the cupboard.

The pit of his stomach was gnawing at him, in demand of consuming any substance before he made himself throw up again in ill-health. But this time, he had decided to listen to his body’s cries, and searched for any kind of food that he had in his cupboard, just to shut it up.

Glassy, greyish-blue eyes stared numbly at the jar of hot dogs, submerged in the murky faint-orange liquid of brine, and found it suddenly appealing to eat. He didn’t understand why, today of all days, he unexpectedly decided to feed himself. But the persistence of his grumbling stomach was starting to hurt him now when alcohol and smoking used to block those pathetic needs.

Taking the jar out of the cupboard, he closed the door and turned to leave the small kitchen, approaching to the next room. The biggest room of the bungalow, his favourite room, the living room. It wasn’t a brilliantly decorated room. Just like the building itself, the rooms were just as derelict and unkempt, dirty white painted walls with a simple light-brown carpet. Empty bottles of alcohol scattered across the floor, dotted around randomly, with many of them grouped in the corners of the room, or in bunches on surfaces. A few half-drunken bottles laid on the sofa, spilling its acidic content onto the dirtied fabric. They had been there since last night.

He didn’t care anyway. The sofa was ruined before he even bought it. Its murky brown fabric making his favourite room look so ugly, ignoring the factor that it was a complete mess in general, with fast-food bags and dinner containers left on the coffee table in a disgusting heap.

Beside them were a neat pile of dirty magazines, his current favourite pastime during the dark and lonely evenings.

His eyes glanced at the empty tissue box.

_Shit…I need to get more…_

With a groan, he approached the sofa, being careful where he sat, and fell onto it heavily, the jar of hot dogs in his lean, bruised hands. Fingers shaking against the cold glass.

A small TV stared back at him, the screen black, no doubt turning itself off when he had fallen asleep with it on, yet again, watching the naughty late-night channels, keeping his hands busy. It was the only thing that used to make him feel good, that used to make him feel _human_ , but even _that_ wasn’t helping anymore…

The same four walls, the painful silence that screamed against his eardrums, the constant same routine of his life that he had been living with for five years now…

How he hated his life…

He noted the state of the floor, seeing a stain that had been there for a while now, and pondered what kinds of creatures lived in the dirt of that old carpet.

This place was a shithole, but it was his home…

An aching hand reached for his skull and he scratched at it, a soft sprinkle of white dandruff scattering off his skull as his nails scraped against the scalp, dotting in the thick, dirty-blond dreadlocks that nestled in the crooks of his shoulders and neck, draping over his chest like a curtain of ropes.

 _Fuck…I hope work fucking burns…_ Came the cynical thought, reaching for the tin lid of the jar and twisted firmly, the sharp _pop!_ of the seal breaking as he opened it, his long, lengthy fingers reaching inside of it and picking the limp hotdog with his middle and index finger, fishing it out and began to eat it, snarling at it like a starved dog. He was capable of cooking, of course, but he never had the motivation to do so. He never really bothered going out of his way to prepare a proper meal for himself, and so just eating brine-soaked hot dogs was good enough for him. A small pill to stop the hunger pains.

As he reclined back, his jaw slightly clicking as he savoured his first hot dog, he tilted his head up and looked at the battered grey ceiling, seeing the dark clouds staining the off-white paint from where he had smoked repetitively under.

He was already picking out another hot dog, feeling its slimy skin against his rough fingers, and suddenly finding himself staring numbly at the reflection of his TV screen, seeing a tall, lean man sinking in the dip of his battered sofa, donned in nothing but a pair of murky, ripped jeans, and black socks. Clothes he had worn for the last two weeks, uncleaned. The scent of his own masculine musk had set inside the fabric, never really leaving his clothes even if he washed them. Despite the lack of self-care, he was very handsome, with a sharp jawline and intimidating eyes, well-kept dreadlocks and clear skin. His ribs were starting to show beneath his flesh, announcing their underweight state. He was starving himself, and for no reason he didn’t understand why he didn’t see it as a problem.

He just accepted it.

Drawing his shoulders up to his ears in a lazy stretch, he cocked his head to one side and grunted when he felt a hard knot in his neck clicking out of position, easing a stiffness that was there all night. The heavy cloud of alcohol was still inside of his skull, throbbing numbly to warn him that he was still drunk the previous nightly session of heavy drinking and extreme masturbation.

He popped a hot dog into his lips and paused, his mind slightly trailing off to an imaginary woman on her knees before him, re-enacting his actions between his legs. His leg twitched slightly in dull excitement, but he came to realise that his body was too exhausted to even get aroused by his dirty thoughts, and so he continued to eat the hot dog.

In the next few hours, he will be at work, standing in the dead building where customers hardly visited, bored, with nothing but giving his cock a good time. The temptation was always all around him, and it made it even better when his boss wasn’t with him. Her business trips seem to take her out of the store all the time, giving him space. Which was a blessing and a curse.

He fed himself a few more hot dogs before wondering what to do before he prepared for work, during which he took out a stub of a used cigarette and relit it, smoking the last embers of its intoxicating drug into his system, and finding it to ease his body more.

_Nothing fucking matters anymore…_

He slumped in the sofa, smoking in silence.

And for the first time, he decided to finally take a shower. Not to clean and self-care, but to kill time, really…

Shoving the jar of half-eaten hot dogs on the coffee table, he stood up from the sofa almost reluctantly with the scrunched-up stub of his cigarette in his mouth, and turned on his heels towards the bathroom, a small cabin of the bungalow, with a cramped layout. The toilet was far too close to the shower, and the sink was slightly broken, the facet popping out of the porcelain sink. But it was still useable.

The man walked past the cracked mirror and he paused, stepping back slightly and looked at himself.

Corey Taylor surveyed his appearance for a time, the dark circles under his eyes and stupid nose making him feel hideous abruptly, and he snapped his head away from the reflection, not wanting to see his face again for another two weeks.

He prepared the shower…

* * *

Just as expected, work was dead.

Corey leaned over the counter, staring darkly at the blank mannequin that stared back at him, donned in a beautiful red and black corset and tight set. He had always wanted to see a woman dressed in such a way for him, but no one ever bothered to indulge on his sexual fantasies.

 _The Adult Emporium._ What a place to work at, a damn sex store. He had always thought this place would be busy all the time, considering it was such a lewd and taboo store…but to his disappointment, the most they would get are a few couples, a single lonely man, or a group of girls preparing a hen-night, and _that_ was rare!

“Yo Corey!” A male voice shouted in the back, and Corey grumbled, planting his face into his folded arms on the counter.

“What?” Came the muffled reply, frustration lacing his tone.

“Don’t _what_ me!” A chuckle.

That was when Shawn entered from the staffroom, his black shirt concealing his large belly, his body stocky and mirrored the same height as his friend. But unlike Corey, Shawn kept himself well-fed, indulging happily on food, a striking contrast against the starved dreadlocked man. Shawn stepped behind Corey, a meaty hand grabbing his shoulder and forced the miserable man to stand up, pulling his furious face from his arms. “I was gonna ask if you wanted to go for another drink tonight?”

_A drink…I can’t say no to a drink…_

“So long you’re paying,” Corey grinned faintly, half-assed. Shawn tutted, rolling his eyes.

“Sure, sure…you owe me big-time though, big-mouth.” Shaking his head, Shawn walked away from the counter, approaching the empty shop floor. The store itself wasn’t too big, but it had plenty of space for all kinds of stock.

It was just a shame the majority of this was still hanging and haven’t even been purchased or touched. Corey watched as his only friend looked around his workplace as if he was an inspector.

“The fuck are you doing?” Corey grumbled, cocking a brow.

“Just looking.” Shawn replied casually, scratching at the soft tuff of facial hair that curved around his jawline and chin.

“You don’t even fucking work here…”

“Yeah, but let’s face it,” Shawn faced Corey with a wide grin, seeing his friend frowning darkly, his fingers drumming on the surface slowly. Each digit was fixed with a different coloured bandage. “You’d probably kill yourself from boredom if I didn’t come down.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Corey grilled through clenched teeth, not in the mood to banter. Shawn noticed this, but knowing it was always best to leave an angry-Corey alone, he simply shrugged and looked back at the wall of sex-toys.

The dildo corner, of course.

“I’ve always wondered how girls can fit these in.” Shawn mused, a little too loudly, as he snatched the largest dildo from the hanging display. It was just as thick as his forearm. Chuckling to himself, he attempted to open it. But Corey noticed this, his eyes hard and cruel.

“Don’t fucking bother!”

“Whaaaat? It’s for science!”

“Fucking leave it alone, Shawn.”

For a moment, Shawn stared back at Corey, his expression blank, frozen. Corey stared back bitterly, his eyes warning him.

Shawn proceeded to open the packaging, and Corey heaved a furious growl, but nothing more.

But just as Shawn was about to abuse the dildo for his own amusement, the bell chime announced the arrival of customers, a rare sound. Intrigued, Corey turned to the door, and felt something unusual…

That was when _she_ came in…


	2. Sallie Knight

Corey didn’t understand how or what he was feeling. It was an entirely new sensation of horror, surprise, love, arousal, and genuine fear.

What was even more surprising was that he heard more than one voice, and Shawn grinned to see a group of women entering the sex store, chatting amongst themselves. Shawn turned back to see Corey gawking at the cluster of girls, and with a snort he shook his head in disbelief. He had to admit, Corey looked stupid. Staring at the girls as if he had never seen a woman before…

But there was something unusual about the way he was staring. Shawn studied Corey closely.

Now, it was pretty normal for a disappointment like his best friend to be staring at women that were completely out of his league, like a little teenager looking up to goddess porn-stars. But the longer Shawn watched Corey, the more he realised that there was a difference with this.

This wasn’t a longing to be near those women, but something _more_ …

Following his line of sight, Shawn turned back to the group of girls. There was four of them, a nice little collection of the female specimen, and all seemed to have a sense of fashion that clashed one another and yet accept each other for their uniqueness.

Shawn tried to figure out which girl Corey was checking out and found it difficult to determine it. He first looked at the one with the candy-floss-like hair, a soft pastel pink of clouds and gentle curls, an assortment of ear piercings hidden beneath the waves of pinks. She had delicate eye-makeup, a soft brushing of black around her icy-blue eyes, with matching black lips. She obviously loved her fishnets, donning them on her legs and arms, a cute plaited skirt and shirt. And a stunning spiked collar hugged kindly around her neck. A typical goth of Des Moines. Harper Smith.

Shawn’s eyes glanced back at Corey, and still couldn’t figure out if he were looking at her or not. Shawn found her first, her shocking pink-hair and rather attractive appearances was what caught his attention. She was pretty cute too.

But then Shawn thought it was the women beside her. He glanced at the pair of them.

The taller one, Liv Sady. Startingly beautiful, with the soft ginger-red curls of her hair, tied up in two small, cute buns, leaving a train of the orange-gold hair down her back. Cute freckles dotted on her cheeks and nose. Trademarked in reds and blacks, her plaited skirt mirrored her fellow goths, silky black, with her long-sleeved shirt, striped in blacks and reds. He could tell beneath her long sleeves that she wore an assortment of bracelets, with a choker that cusped her throat deftly. She was like a little goth fairy. 

The other one…looked more batshit crazy. Her hair a multitude of crazy colours, pinks, reds, blues, purples. She seemed to be the smallest one here, with slim arms and an adorable face, her insane hair tucked messily beneath a black beanie, a long black shirt mirroring the design of her beanie, displaying a metal band Shawn wasn’t familiar with. Her eyes had natural dark circles, having no need for black makeup like her fellow metal sisters around her, lacking sleep.

She was constantly jittering, as if she were unable to contain the amount of energy that was building inside of her.

Shawn noted the can of _Monster Energy Drink_ in her small hand and cocked a brow at it.

_Hmm, figures…_

Trying to figure it out, Shawn stepped towards them, posing as a member of the store. It worked a lot of the time, considering his wardrobe was mostly black. No one ever thought twice that he was missing an ID badge or any signal that he was an official member of staff here.

“Hello, my lovely ladies of the night,” Shawn grinned, catching all of the girls’ attention. All pretty eyes turned to him, and he grinned rather smugly to feel all of the women looking at him at once, their eyes sparkling with curiosity and interest. They all brought out this charm of innocence, as if this were the very first time they visited such a store, and Shawn felt obliged to guide them. Gently. He was a gentleman, after all! “How may we help you?”

“Oh, hello!” The pink-haired Goth stepped forward, smiling brightly. Shawn felt the vibe that this one was the leader of this pack of gorgeous ladies. “Y-Yeah, um…forgive me, but this is our first time being here.”

With an exaggerated clap of his hands, Shawn replied with an enthusiasm that Corey had never witnessed before. But then again, Shawn was _always_ a good showman, particularly when pretty ladies were involved.

“Well, my buddy Corey and I will assist!” Shawn piped up, wagging a finger in the air. “So, what’s the occasion?” Shawn’s eyes scanned over the new faces, studying them promptly to try and figure what Corey was getting hard for, and when he looked to the fourth lady, his heart jumped into his throat.

He instantly recognised her from somewhere. Her flesh held this softness that made him curious in touching, almost looking fluffy from such a soft glow of pale flesh, like ivory. She too was a goth, but unlike her colourful leader, she was a traditional Goth, with the black one-piece dress that hugged around her curves. Shawn had to admit, but she had such a unique shape. Pear-Shaped didn’t make sense because she had curves in the right places. She wasn’t skinny, but not fat either. A little bit on the big side, with thick thighs and wide hips, her body slightly broader than her surrounding slim friends, a cute little belly just like himself. Her brunette hair tied neatly in high, large pigtails, the lengthy hair tracing down to her elbows. Black eyeliner around her stormy-blue eyes, glossy-black lips to match, with also a devotion towards the fishnet stockings, tucked into large goth boots that seemed too big for her stature.

Again, another cute girl of Des Moines…

But to Shawn, this was a _different_ thing. There was a recognition about her that was bothering him, and so he approached her.

“Hey.” He greeted, softly this time, pointing at her. “Aren’t you…Mick’s sister?”

The goth brunette flashed a small, soft smile at Shawn.

“Step-Sister. But yes.”

Shawn’s eyes widened in amazement.

“Ah! I thought so! Mick’s one of my buddies!” He piped up in excitement, clicking his fingers as he tried to remember another shed of information. “Uh…something…Knight?”

“Sallie Knight.” Came the gentle, British accent. So soft, so precious…

Corey pushed himself further onto the counter, leaning closer over the surface, his eyes now huge with a vast interest for this British goth…

He didn’t understand this attraction he felt for her. He had only felt this way about a girl he crushed on terribly years ago, but when she rejected him, he felt all hope and self-respect go. Now, this time, he found himself experiencing the same kind of attraction, but seemingly more intense. He didn’t have enough time to register what he was feeling, unable to stop himself falling. And he was falling hard.

“Ahh, yes. I was certain I’ve seen your face somewhere.” Shawn beamed, nodding. “Great to see you in person at last!” Placing his hands on his hips, his eyes scanned over the girls. “So, what’s the occasion? Or just having a cheeky look?”

“It’s a hen-night.” Sallie responded, making Shawn turn to her again. “Mick and Barbie are getting married.”

Shawn’s eyes widened in surprise, and lightly slapped his head with his palm.

“Ah! Duh! Yes, he mentioned that before!” Clapping his hands and rubbing them together eagerly, he began to pace around the room. “Well, talk to me! Tell me what you ladies are after!”

“We’re planning a quiet hen-night.” Harper replied. “But we wanted to be silly and surprise the bride-to-be,”

“Something cheeky and sexy?” Shawn said, wagging his finger. “You girls have come to the right place.” Dramatically, he opened his arms out to the display cabinets of sex toys and naughty lingerie. “Have a look around and chat amongst yourselves. You talk to me and my buddy, Corey, if you have any questions.” He added, indicating a thumb to the mute man behind him, his eyes intense, grey-blue eyes fixated on the voluptuous goth.

Shawn seemed to know her, so he will be interrogating him about her. He needed all of the details…

The girls split off to different directions of the shop. But Corey didn’t pay any of the others attention, his mind solely fastened onto _her_. Though he could hear the multi-coloured hair girl suddenly shouting at the top of her voice, pointing at the giant dildo that hung on the wall like a samurai sword, making Liv howl with laughter.

“Rose, it’s-” Liv spoke softly, but the little jittering woman cut her off.

“You could fucking smite someone with that thing! How much is it?! A _grand_?!”

Shawn walked towards Rose, making Corey frown softly. He wanted to have a quiet word with him about that _Sallie_ , but he shrunk back behind the counter as his friend approached them, talking to Liv and Rose about the collection of toy cocks on the wall.

And so, Corey fixed all of his attention onto Sallie, watching her walk to the other side of the store, to peer at the delicate lingerie that were worn by the bored mannequins. He noticed how she walked with such a careful grace, her boots so weighty and comically too big for her tiny stature, each boot emitting a gentle thud through the thin carpet that he could feel beneath his own soles. He admired her curves from afar, watching as she gazed calmly at the black lingerie, her little petit fingers reaching for the material and stroked it delicately with her thumb, making Corey bite the corner of his lip. For a split second, he wondered how such a light touch would feel over his cheeks, her tiny palms cupping his face with such an endearing love. His body starved from such attention.

She blinked, feeling the texture, wondering about it herself.

Her shapely thighs and legs somehow glowed in the dull light of the store, her pale-white skin like ivory, closest thing to living marble. Like an animated statuette of _Aphrodite_ , a Goddess was walking through his own store.

Corey felt a strange lightness in his chest, and came to realise that his heart was pounding, so promptly and hard, reaching inside of his throat and frightened him for a moment.

He thought he was dying just from watching the woman for too long…

His blood boiling to an excited simmer he hadn’t felt in a long time, thickening, he continued to stare at her from where he stood, seeing her turning away from his direction to observe the next lingerie in line. A simple black leotard, glossy and latex-like. He found himself imagining her wearing it, sharing her own thoughts. But while she was most likely critiquing everything about it, he was admiring all of the greatness from it. How tight that little outfit would be on her, how the gloss-black surface would clasp around her curves and asscheeks, the highlights of the lighting reflecting on it so vividly, emphasising the sheer curves of her body.

_Imagine her on top of you…_

Came the tempting thought, and Corey obeyed, imagining her under his roof, in the sanctuary of his home, holding her thick hips in his hands as she straddled over his cock, donning in the latex leotard, with those tights.

The boots were _certainly_ staying…

The man found himself falling more for the shape of her. She wasn’t the typical skinny Des Moines woman, with legs so thin they could snap. These thighs had _shape_ , had grip, had enough space for his fingers to greedily grab onto during aggressive sex…

The pinnacle of womanhood, of arcs and soft, soft curves…

He could imagine the sound of them slapping against his body as he fucked her wildly…

_Thighs…I wanna lick them…_

Corey was fully aware of the growing heat between his thighs, his cock swelling softly just from watching her, and subtly, he dropped his right hand behind the counter and gave himself a firm squeeze, trying to suppress the urgency to just snatch his cock out and touching himself.

He would normally give it a squeeze and pull back…but he found himself falling for the temptation of just giving his arousal attention, and without realising he was only growing more and more aroused. Carefully, his fingers and palm massaged the top of his jeans, squishing his groin against his body as the plump goth stepped to the side, her head tilting down to see something of interest. He loved how her pigtails shifted softly, cascades of brunette ribbons.

Then she squatted down to see-

Corey felt himself becoming breathless, now struggling to contain himself from the sight. Her thighs were slightly spread open for balance on her huge boots, but it was enough to tease the man what he could get.

Sweat fused through the pores of his forehead and began to bead at the back of his neck, soaking in his dreadlocks. His heartbeat so loud inside of his skull, making him very aware that his adrenaline and senses were heightening, the same experience he felt when watching porn…

The dress hid the majority of her ass, only revealing the top of her hips, but it was enough to leave Corey to his imagination. The dress billowed slightly, but the concept that her plump, round ass was just beneath such a pitiful piece of cloth.

_To step towards her and grope that ass, fucking pull her onto my cock and fuck-!_

Corey, very carefully, unbuttoned his jeans with one hand…

“She’s rather innocent, to be honest.” Liv stated, looking at Shawn, who was regarding her with such a brilliant smile, an excellent salesperson. “So, we don’t want anything so…gross, if that makes sense.”

“Sweet and gentle. Got it.” Shawn nodded, drawing their attention to the little games corner. “You girls seem the be the kind that wants to have fun. These games are for dumb fun…uh…mostly couple games, but…uhhh - ah!” Shawn reached the bookshelf, pulling out a book that was specifically written for hen-nights. “This little baby is _very_ good with ideas. Like…” He opened the book, feeling Liv, Harper and Rose circle around him, reading the pages of the book as he flipped through them excitingly. “Balloon Humping!”

Rose cocked a brow at him, taking a long, slow slurp of her energy drink.

“Are you taking the piss, mate?”

Shawn flashed a flawless grin.

“It’s a lot more fun than you think!”

Corey began to hunch down behind the counter, his hand now in the warmth of his jeans, his fingers finding his semi-erect cock and pinched at it with his fingers, implementing small sparks of pain, making him more excited, a cruel teasing act he often did.

Still, his little goth was unaware of his dirty act, walking along the side of the store, eyeing up the outfits.

Corey opened his mouth to say something to her, but his throat was coarse and dry, and he couldn’t find the right words for her. Like standing in the same room as a celebrity he had been crushing on for years, he wanted his first words to her to be perfect.

And when he began to find himself stroking the length of his cock, he realised by then that it wasn’t the right place, and immediately removed his hand, button his jeans and tried to look casual, his hand still warm.

His porcelain angel finally turned back, facing his direction, and something told her that she was being watched.

Bright, blue eyes looked up and met his gaze, and Corey felt himself seize at the hold.

He was fascinated by her face, black on white, like a vampire queen from one of his erotic movies.

A long moment of staring passed all too quickly.

And then she _smiled_.

And it wasn’t the usual wide, _Hollywood_ smile. It was small, cute, the corners of her black-painted lips curled upwards like a little smile on a tiny kitten.

Corey almost choked, more horrified how such a simple expression could make him feel so…

… _fucking hungry…_

A sweet, innocent greeting. A little notion that another human liked him, making him feel so special, like he was the only one she’d smile to. A silent signal of ‘I like you’. His cock pressed harder against his tough jeans, and pushed his hips carefully onto the counter side, he pressed his cock against the hard surface and had to restrain himself from making a grunt noise from the pressure applied there.

He forced a smile, too shocked to make it come naturally, revealing his nicotine-stained teeth.

The moment was fleeting, and with a gentle turn, the little goth focused her attention on the outfits, having no interest in the sex toys.

Corey’s mouth watered in ravish lust. His fingers itched to touch her. Just a small little touch…just a whiff of her hair…he wanted to have her all to himself, this possessive desire to claim her as his, this primal urge to _fuck her-!_

This was not an ephemeral romance. This was a dangerous _hunger_.

The dreadlocked man longed for this moment to last forever, and so his heart sank terribly when her friends called her over, and she walked _away_ from him, leaving him cold.

_Don’t you fucking walk away from me!_

She carried an aura of warmth and love, something he had been _dying_ to have in his life, and like a starved child, he watched after her, wantonly.

_I want to kiss her temple…feel her flesh against my lips…to taste the sweat and powdered flowers…_

“We shall discuss it with the bride herself!” Harper continued the conversation with Shawn as the girls regrouped together. Corey had little to no idea what was said, but he realised with great horror that they were going to leave the building.

_Close the door._

_Lock the door._

Corey stepped away from the counter and promptly, he marched towards the door in the background. Only Shawn noticed his sudden movement.

“Well, we’re always open here!” Shawn beamed, carrying on his brilliant customer service without missing a beat. He beckoned them towards the door, and found Corey standing before them, shielding it, almost preventing them leaving.

Shawn narrowed his eyes at his friend, confused to the strange reaction, but as Corey looked at the precious little goth tucked behind her friends, like a soft shadow, he whined internally and pressed the palm of his hand onto the door…

…and politely opened it for them.

One by one, the girls left the store, bidding Shawn goodbye, and Corey felt the crippling depressing taking over him as the time was nearing. Just as the goth goddess approached the door. He looked down to her subtly, and she gave him another cute smile.

“Thank you.” She said to him, her breath touching his skin, and she looked back at Shawn. “I’ll see you later, Shawn.”

“Catch you later, Sal.”

And Corey watched Sallie walk past him, a subtle scent of a feminine perfume reaching his nose, and he shivered hard.

He would have watched her walk all the way down the pavement, if Shawn didn’t snatch his arm and pulled him back, closing the door.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Shawn cried out, bringing Corey out of his daze.

“Hm?”

“You looked like a fucking creep staring at her like that!”

Corey knew Shawn was right, but he tried to play it off cool, giving his friend a small shrug.

“So, maybe I like her.”

“Yeah, maybe, but a fucking psychopath gawks at their prey like that.” Shawn frowned, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Fuck sake… don’t ever do that again, dude. You scared me.”

Corey said nothing, but only gave Shawn a cold, hard stare.


	3. Charm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING, THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS:  
> +Sex Scene (Masturbation...nothing amazing)

“So, tell me more about her.”

Shawn blinked, his eyes drawing away from the road and looked back at Corey for a moment. He pulled an expression of awkward uncertainty.

“Eh?”

“Sallie.”

“What about her?”

“Talk to me about her!”

Shawn would have stared longer at Corey, but fully aware that he was driving, he turned his eyes back to the road, shaking his head briefly.

“W-What do you wanna know about her?”

“ _Everything_!”

“Umm….” Shawn’s lips tightened in ponder, searching for a shred of information just to shut his friend up. “I mean…she’s small-”

“How small?”

Shawn frowned.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know that? You saw her, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but _how_ small?” Corey straightened in his seat, now becoming intense with his interrogation. “Gimme figures!”

“Dude! I cannot-!” Shawn stalled, however, trying to think a quick figure in his head. “Probably 5-foot fucking 2 – 3?!”

“Ahh…” Corey sighed, dreamily, reclining back into his seat and closed his eyes, feeling the breeze through his dreadlocks from the crack of the window. “She’s so tiny…so cute…”

“Dude…” His friend grumbled, slowly halting the car by traffic lights. “I’m concerned…I’ve never seen you like this…over a fucking _girl_ ,”

Corey’s dreamy state drastically changed, and he shot a poisonous glare at his friend, insulted.

“She’s _not_ a fucking girl! She’s a _real woman!_ A Goddess!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever…” Shawn snorted, bringing back the original topic. “Look…last time I saw you even _close_ to this state was with Jodie.”

“Jodie was a waste of my fucking time.”

“What? Just because _you’ve_ done nothing but chase tails with her, and she rejects you a number of times?”

“She doesn’t know what she missed out.”

Shawn glared at Corey, giving him an exaggerated eyeballing in disgust.

“Yeah, no kidding!” He scoffed sarcastically, spying Corey’s shabby state. The car purred softly as it waited patiently by the lights, the streets empty. It was often like this in the dead of night. With Corey’s car broken down in his drive, Shawn was more than happy to give him a ride to and from work. Sometimes they would talk about the typical subjects, like music and women and upcoming parties. But this conversation seemed far graver compared to the usual talks. “So, you _really_ like her?”

Corey said nothing, but he didn’t need to reply anyway. His grumpy silence was enough. And Shawn continued. “Listen, I can _help_ you. You’re shit with women, and you’ll end up getting a fucking criminal record from her if you don’t stop acting like a fucking idiot.”

“She just makes me…” Corey’s hands gripped onto his black shirt, pulling it slightly as if attempting to rip his own flesh off. “…she makes me feel so _alive_ …I never felt like this with _anyone_ …not even Jodie.”

“Not even Jodie?”

“Jodie…I think I was just fucking desperate to fuck her, to be honest. Nothing more. Just fucking all the way…but _her_ …” Corey hung his head, his dreadlocks sadly rolling down his arms as he pressed his forehead against the window, watching the empty streets beyond the warmth of the car. “…she gives me this _feeling_ that we’ll be together forever…that even through death, we’ll live in this underworld, trapped forever, but we have each other…”

“Ugh…” Shawn groaned. “Well, don’t say shit like that to her. You might freak her out.”

“So, tell me more about her!”

“Fuck sake, dude!”

“ _Please?_ ”

Shawn gradually closed his eyes, pushing his foot on the pedal and began to drive down the junction peacefully. He had to contain himself for a moment before he punched Corey in the throat, Corey’s pestering getting on his nerves now.

“All I know…is that she likes her music. Heavy metal.”

“Good taste.”

“And she is Mick’s little step-sister.”

With a smug scoff, Corey shrugged.

“Ha, I’ll win him over.”

Shawn slowly turned to Corey, his face dark and serious.

“Dude, _no one_ just fucking wins Mick over.”

“Are you doubting me, Crahan?”

“Very much so, yes!” Shawn snapped back, disturbed at Corey’s overconfident reply. “You haven’t seen Mick!”

“Mick-Smick.” Corey chuckled, rolling his eyes. “I’ll charm him.”

Shawn couldn’t help himself feeling a little agitated with Corey’s cockiness. But instead of elaborating on this discussion, Shawn thought of another idea.

“Well, Mick and I have band practise tomorrow with a few others. You’re…more than welcome to come and meet him. And see who you are _really_ dealing with.”

“Dude, you’re acting like I’m facing a fucking 6-foot behemoth.”

“Six-foot-three.”

Corey shot a glare at Shawn but came to realise that his friend wasn’t messing. There was no sign of jest in his expression or tone.

“S-Six foot three?”

“Yep.”

“He’s a fucking beast…”

Shawn smacked his lips nonchalantly.

“Yep…you’re fucking five-foot-seven and look like a twig compared to him. He’s built like a brick-shithouse…”

Corey stared at the front windows, and Shawn felt his arrogant vibe fading out, and promptly Corey returned to the awkward kid-adult that failed to chat with pretty girls. “Come to band practise tomorrow, go and meet him. Maybe, if you’re not such an idiot, you can get along with him.”

“Hmm, I’ll think about it…”

That annoyed Shawn. He had to be honest with Corey, but for a moment he noted how much happier Corey would be. The Jodie incident was three years ago, and watching Corey deteriorate was depressing.

_Maybe…this was a good idea…_

And, slowly, Shawn replied:

“I believe Sallie lives with him.”

And that was when Corey perked up.

“R-Really?” When Shawn nodded in affirmation, Corey straightened in his seat again. “Maybe…maybe I should go, after all…”

“Yeah, maybe…”

Shawn’s car pulled up at the side of the road, stopping just outside the ugly, worn bungalow, that was Corey’s home. Locking the car in park-mode, Shawn turned to his friend and had to warn him. “I…look…” He stumbled for his words, feeling Corey’s hard eyes on him, listening. “If you… _really_ like Sallie, I’ll do what I can to help you. Because I think you’re in dire need of a fucking girlfriend, dude.”

Corey nodded, making Shawn smirk. At least he admitted _that_ …

“We’ll go to band practise tomorrow,”

With a proud smile, Shawn patted Corey’s arm.

“Good! Now, get out before I eject my fucking seats.”

Corey left the vehicle, bidding goodnight to his friend and watched as Shawn sped down the road, the car roaring in the night, leaving Corey in its dust. Once the car turned and vanished around the corner, Corey felt very alone suddenly.

And quickly, he hurried into his bungalow, locking the crooked door behind him.

The stench of his bungalow never seemed to go. Smelted merges of cigarette smoke and grime and sweat. There was the subtle scent of sex, all due to his constant foreplays upon himself.

He wasn’t hungry, or tired. But he knew _exactly_ what he was planning to do, and unlike the previous sessions where it felt like a mundane daily chore, this time he was _very_ excited.

Corey decided to take this particular session to his _bedroom_. It’s been a very long time, to be needed such privacy in a lonely building. He even locked his bedroom door, keeping his own private time in one small room. He stood by his messy bed, kicking off the empty cartons of food and bottles onto the floor, and pulled his duvet on the floor, stripping the sad small bed naked with only a grubby bedsheet and a single flat pillow.

He was surprised to find his cock still somewhat hard from his aggressive thought process a few hours ago. But, then again, she never _left_ his thoughts. But the moment he unbuttoned his pants and tore them thrillingly off his ankles, he could already feel the blood thickening inside of his body, pumping harder in his cock, like he unconsciously knew what he was preparing for. His shirt quickly followed, stripping down completely naked and allowing the cool air to touch his body, reminding him how completely exposed he was. Then he sat upon his bed, shuffling to the other side where the bed was pressed against the wall, and rested his back on it.

In the dark of his room, he glanced down at his cock between his thighs, his fingers slowly touching at it, brushing at the underbelly and curling each digit carefully around it. The warmth of his hand shocked his body, and he began to feel the familiar hot throbbing of his arousal beating against his fingertips and palms.

The breathing gradually became laboured, heavy and wet, his hand gripping firmly around his shaft and slowly, teasingly, he began to stroke himself, now knowing it was safe to express his sexual desire he had been holding back within that store.

How he wanted to just watch her while he jacked off, wanted to see how she’d react to him presenting himself in such a way to her…

…he wondered if she’d accept it…

… _yes…yes she would accept it…_

With a hard swallow, Corey took a long deep breath as he closed his eyes, his other hand reaching for his chest, stroking the palm up to his pierced nipple, imagining it to be the small, delicate hands of that angel.

Her face never left him. That smile tattooed inside of his mind, the cute accent that laced with her soft voice. Those curves…those _fucking_ curves…what those curves would look like naked…

He realised that he was getting harder over an image _inside_ of his head. He hadn’t used his imagination like this for a very long time, always relying on the quick and easy method of dirty magazines and pornos. But it seemed that her beatific presence was enough to set all of his primal urges off, just that _smile_ …

_I wanna make her smile like that…I want her to smile like that because of me…_

Corey rolled his head to the side, feeling the familiar grinding of bliss boiling in his lower gut, feeling his balls swelling and becoming heavier with arousal, naturally, his body now poisoned for this mate he craved for.

A small hand cupped at his balls, the softest flesh he had ever touched.

And the little goth herself leaned down to him, her eyes level with his gaze. Sallie flashed that cute smile at him, and his heart pounded in want at her.

“I…”

She said nothing. Being mute. Teasing. He liked it.

She slightly recoiled back, her hands squeezing at his balls firmly, seemingly enjoying that part of the male anatomy and Corey winced at the grip. Such tiny hands with a very determined hold, equally possessively as his longing for her. She was his, and he was hers.

Chuckling softly, his voice rolled out of his mouth drunkenly, talking to his imagination. “Cheeky…” He cooed, seeing Sallie giggle silently, her pigtails rolling down her slender shoulders. Her skin seemed to have glowed in the moonlight, blanched from colour. And just as Corey spread his legs open for her, she positioned herself between his legs, hands on his thighs, little fingers holding, and she bowed down to her master, lips reaching the tip of his cock-

Corey quickly licked the tips of his fingers, drenched them with thick, hot saliva, and gripped his soaked fingers at the throbbing head of his cock, whining loudly in the night…

\- She was sucking him, pushing his cock all the way inside of her mouth. Tight. Wet. _Hot._ He could feel the soft scrapes of her teeth, the hot tightness of her throat, the closest impression of her pussy.

“L-Let me fuck you…please…”

She obeyed him, even though she barely had the time to suck him off. Sallie stood up, and Corey noticed she was fully dressed, donned in that adorable black dress. But as she stood on the bed, Corey looked up to see her lifting her black dress, gazing down at him with full of admiration, full of worship for this man, and he groaned harder to see that she wasn’t wearing any panties, exposing her equally horny pussy. He noticed the glistening wetness in her inner thighs.

_She’s wet for you. She fucking wants you._

“C-Come…my love…sit…”

Corey squeezed his cock more, holding it up ready for his lover to push him inside of her. She stepped closer, still holding her dress up and when she was above him, she slowly squatted down, her thighs opening wider and wider as she got lower, and he felt her pussy squish its soft, swollen lips at the tip of his cock-

A whiff of flowers came to his nose.

She was _so_ real…

-Immediately, Corey’s hand snatched at her ass, his hand seemingly small compared to the large asscheeks, and with a great drive he forced her down onto his cock, allowing him to piercing her. Her inner walls snatched around his invasive cock, clenching around him. _So tight!_

He had expected a scream of surprise or hurt, but instead she didn’t seem phased by it, a tilt of her head and a gleeful expression showed that she was so _happy_ to have him fuck her.

His hips thrusted upwards, constantly pounding his hips against her large ass and soft thighs, hearing the firm slapping of flesh between them, the stuffy heat of their bodies merging into one as he continued to fuck her. Sallie wrapped her arms around his head, pushing his face into her breasts. She made no noise, but he knew she was enjoying this as much as he did. He wailed against her body, his moans sounding so fragile and scared, like a man experiencing intense sex for the first time. Balls slapped up against her asscheeks, his thrusting causing her ass to jiggle and ripple sexily. “ _Oh god…fuck_ …” Corey was making incoherent words, little mutters and soft garble of innocent-like surprise rolling out of his lips. “ _You…fucking…it makes my…oh god…I know…this tears us apart…oh god…_ ”

And very swiftly, he found himself quickening everything, his hand snatching at his balls and pulling them away from his body, taunting at it as his hand jacked his cock quickly, the abrupt insistence to cum just simmering at the surface of his body, and with a quick squeal of yearning, he felt a part of his leg stiffen as he orgasmed, feeling the hot jet of his cum shoot out of his cock with such a speed it surprised him.

And the image of Sallie vanished the moment he opened his eyes, watching as his cock spewed cum over his knuckles, spitting in pulses as the waves of pleasure succumbed over his body, feeling the happy chemicals overfilling his entire being, making him feel so light-headed.

And he howled.

He howled to the ceiling for a woman he found himself so attracted to her, so fatally, so intensely that he had this absolute desire to have her all to himself. And he was still climaxing, noticing that he hadn’t orgasmed so long and hard like this for a while.

Again, it seemed only _she_ made him feel this way.

Gradually, his body calmed down, now throbbing hotly with a heat that never left him, a hot daze that clouded his mind with fiery lust.

He wanted to go again…he wanted to just masturbate to this pretty face all night…

Panting heavily, Corey felt his body relaxing too much, slipping to the side of the wall and collapsing onto his bed on his side, trying to catch his breath, gurgling some words to himself…

“ _I can…I can smell you on me_ …” And with a sickening chuckle against his bed, he agreed to just rest for the remaining of the night, too exhausted to continue even if he wanted to, his whole body spent so promptly because of a very, cute, goth…

_I have to make her as mine…I have to have her…must make her…live forever…_


	4. Danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTES:-  
> As this story isn't as intensive as IOWA, SUBLIMINAL ONE, the chapters may be smaller and simpler. Like I said, this is a side-project and don't want to stress out. <3

Keys rattled behind the door, and it opened softly, letting in the cool autumn breeze inside of the home.

A car sped off just as the door opened, and Sallie looked over her shoulder, waving at her friends as the car drove off.

Sallie Knight stepped inside the house, closing the door behind her with a soft sigh.

“Hello?” She called out, knowing there was always someone in the house. But she just wanted to find out who was in.

“Hey!” Came a boom from the kitchen, and Sallie smiled, stepping towards the source of the voice down the rustic hallway. As always, the house did not have the lights on. It never needed to. The decorative candles and lamps were enough to bring in a sense of warmth to the building, like an old cabin fire in a country home. Dark, brown mahogany was the main theme for this house, obtaining its original features when Mick and Barbie bought the house.

The little goth woman followed the voice, walking towards the doorway and into the kitchen. The towering beast of a man, Mick, was sitting on the barstool by the breakfast bar, reading a magazine. He was naturally intimidating, with such broad shoulders and a seemingly permanent frown, his thick black brows furrowed and hard. Cold ice-blue eyes peered through threads of silken black hair.

The behemoth glanced at the doorway, and his burling figure relaxed when he saw his little stepsister, giving her a small smile.

“Hey, how was the trip?”

“It was okay.” Sallie said, immediately approaching the kettle to make herself a coffee.

“Black coffee please.” Mick grinned, knowing Sallie would not be best pleased.

“Bastard.” She snorted playfully, setting out two cups. “Yeah, me and the girls went to that sex store in the corner of town. I think we might go back there but…ehh…I don’t know if it’s to Barbie’s liking.”

“A couple of cheeky girls with some naughty games, what’s wrong with that?” Mick murmured, his voice deep and heavy. “The boys and I are going to get fucking hammered!” He boomed a heartfelt laugh.

Sallie tutted, turning around and leaning her back against the counter, her arms folded across her chest.

“Yeah, _of course_ ,” She smirked. “Oh, that reminds me.”

Mick perked up.

“Hm?”

“I met one of your friends. Shawn?”

“Oh? Big guy, very loud and silly.”

Sallie nodded, the facts matching to what she saw.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Sounds like him.” Mick nodded, closing his magazine and pushing it to one side. “He’s coming down for band practise tomorrow.”

“Ohh!” Sallie’s eyes widened in realization. “So _that’s_ Shawn?! The Clown guy!”

“Yeah,” Scratching at his black beard, Mick stood up, his height tremendous compared to his tiny stepsister. “You can stay and watch if you want?”

“I might do. See what Barbie wants to do tomorrow.” Sallie finished the coffees and handed Mick his cup, both taking a large gulp of their caffeine beverage. “She’s still at her parents?”

“Yeah, she was sorting out her wedding dress today.”

“Ah!” In a small spur of excitement, Sallie jigged in front of Mick, making the looming stepbrother roll his eyes. “Have you got pictures?! I wanna see!”

“I can’t see them, dickhead!” Mick sniggered, giving Sallie a gentle flick on her forehead, making her whine. “Bad luck, remember.”

“Oh yeah.” Chuckling to herself, Sallie glanced at the clock that hung on the wall.

_11:34pm_

She let out a small grumble. “Fuck sake…I need to go to bed soon, got work in the morning.”

“Ah,”

“It’s only a half-day, so it’s not too bad.”

“That’s fine. Shawn and the boys will be here about 3pm anyway, so you’ll be back by then.” And with a hard nudge, Mick added: “You can see your lover boy, Joey, too!”

Sallie’s pale face flushed with colour suddenly, embarrassed by Mick’s playful statement.

“Hey! I don’t like him that way!”

“You totally fucking want his dick.”

“Shut up!” Sallie swiped Mick’s stomach with a punch, which was accidently a little too hard, winding the giant. Mick groaned, hunching over at the impact and Sallie cried out, trying to comfort her attack out of him and apologising constantly.

She eventually squealed when Mick scooped her in the air and threw her to the floor, making her laugh and scream as he engaged in the infamous wrestling matches they used to do as kids, with Mick’s height being a great advantage. He grabbed her legs and twisted her into a submissive position, holding her down and using his weight to make her suffer.

Sallie kept screaming for him to get off, laughing and crying in pain, with Mick smirking to himself.

“I win again. Mick: 2020, Sallie: 1.”

“Fuck yoooouuu….”

* * *

The next morning was bright and warm, the earthly colours of autumn now taking over the neighbourhood. The greens of leaves were fading, and now the golden browns and reds were coming to show. Leaves scattered across the many lawns of the homes along the street.

Sallie adored every inch of autumn. It was possibly her favourite season, with winter shortly following. She didn’t understand what it was, but it had a brilliant sense of _home_ to her. Something England did not quite replicate. She was excited for Halloween, mostly. The smells of rustic earth and crisp leaves, the warmth in the air, the sights of pumpkins…and she was so blessed to have neighbours that immediately hung up their Halloween decoration at the beginning of September. She’ll have to convince Mick to go to the attic and get the decorations out.

Today, she was wearing her black shorts and tank top, something light enough under the lethargic warmth of the season. Her boots remained, along with her fishnet tights, and the pigtails seemed to help cool her more, so she kept them up.

After the brief walk from work, Sallie approached the porch of her home, rummaging her bag for her keys.

Then she felt a car pull up behind her, parking beside Mick’s car. Instinctively, she turned to see who it was, not recognising the vehicle. But when the doors opened, and she saw Shawn pop up, she smiled.

“Hey there!” She called out, making Shawn glance at her. He waved from where he stood.

“Afternoon, Sal!” He called out.

“Just in time,” The little goth beamed. “I’ll leave the door open for you, dickhead is somewhere.”

That made Shawn chuckle.

“Thanks.” Shawn beamed, watching as Sallie turned back to unlock the door. Shawn immediately bent back down into his car, his hand gripping hard at Corey’s shirt, seizing all movement. “ _Stay!_ ” He commanded, already sensing Corey’s excitement bubbling to meet her. Corey couldn’t help but glare at Shawn, offended. “You have to be cool!” Shawn insisted. “Not a desperate fanboy.”

Corey heaved a deep sigh, reclining back in his seat, and watched as Sallie opened the door, readjusting the bag over her shoulder and stepped inside her home.

_Her home…this is where she lived._

Corey now knew where she lived, where she ate…where she _slept_.

His heart was already quickening its pace, getting enthusiastic over this discovery.

“Okay, now remember, her brother’s here too. You fuck this up and no doubt you’ll have an early funeral.” Shawn warned, and he wasn’t certain if Corey took any notice of it. He kept staring through the window, his eyes taking in the details of the adorable abode. He would have been envious of such a cute house, with its delightful porch and swinging bench, a couple’s loveseat, the light blue panelling of the house pristine under the fall of the trees around them. It looked like a fairy-tale home from an old witchy town. “Now, come out.” Shawn instructed, watching Corey eagerly unfasten his seatbelt and opened the door, stepping out of the car urgently. But he obeyed Shawn, staying next to the car until Shawn was beside him, walking him up the path. “And for the love of fuck, _be normal_.”

Shawn entered the house before, having to come here a few times. He walked through the front door with such a confidence, careless.

But Corey. He was suddenly _terrified_. He was about to enter the palace of the woman he was so attracted to. He felt so disgusting, so _underdressed_. The hallway was narrow but beautiful, with decorative wreaths of apples and fig-leaves, the staircase having an assortment of photos in cute small frames that traced up the stairway. Potted plants sat on wooden counters, with a long traditional rug that trace for him a path towards the kitchen, where Shawn was proudly marching through, greeting a few people that were hidden behind the wall.

Corey peeked his head into the doorway, feeling too scared of setting foot in such a magnificent home. He never lived or walked inside such a lovely abode and felt as though it would be too dangerous for him to set foot inside of it, in case he ruined it with his ugly presence.

He heard voices beyond the hallway, knowing one of them to be Shawn’s. They were greeting each other so contently. Corey wanted that sort of company. And so, eventually, he tapped his dirtied sneaker into the house, carefully stepping inside.

Shawn leaned back, appearing from the doorway of the kitchen and looked at Corey with confusion.

“Dude, come in!” He called out, urging him to get inside promptly. Corey growled, fuming like a little disobedient child, and closed the door behind him, looking around, admiring the interior decorations.

“Mick! Helga has her decorations up!”

Corey straightened swiftly to hear that unmistakable voice and accent of his goth queen. It came from the kitchen, and he began to shudder in nerves.

He heard the voice of who he assumed was Mick replying.

“Let me guess, you want the fucking Halloween decorations up?”

“Yes.” Came the cute reply.

“I can’t be bothered right now, woman!”

As Corey listened to the conversation, he slowly walked down the hallway, approaching the voices in the kitchen.

“I’ll get it myself!”

“Sal, you’re too small!”

“I’m an independent woman!”

A roar of laughter, all in jest, including Sallie.

“Woman, I’ll get it down for you tonight.”

“But you’ll probably fall asleep and forget it!”

“Maybe, but then I’ll remember the next day.”

Sallie made a grunt in mock-annoyance.

“Screw you, I’ll get it myself!” And with a little skip to her step, Sallie turned to hurry down the hallway, almost colliding in with the silent Corey.

Corey felt her small hands lightly touching his chest to prevent herself from hitting him, and she staggered back softly, looking up at the tall, dreadlocked man. Corey slowly looked back at her, his eyes progressively widening to realise she was _there_ , so close, _in the flesh_ , and felt the absolute urgency to wrap his arms around her and just hold her tight and take her away from this place, to bring her home like a new pet.

His hands lifted, trembling uncontrollably, reaching out…

_Touch her! Touch her **! FUCKING GRAB HER!**_

Sallie stepped back, giggling shyly.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” She piped up, brushing a sweet lock of her hair behind her ear. Shawn peered around the corner of the doorway, seeing Corey mid-hyperventilating over the tiny woman.

“Oi, dickhead, stop gawking and introduce yourself to the boys.” Shawn hollered, trying to distract him away from the woman he was going crazy over. But he could tell that Corey was far too enchanted to pay any attention to his friend. His eyes intensely held onto Sallie, watching her curiously like a beast that had never seen a human before, prowling, holding a presence of inquisitiveness and caution. But Sallie didn’t seem too phased by his stare. If anything, she noticed how closed-off and aloof this dreadlocked man seemed, and so she gave him a chance and started the conversation first.

“I’m Sallie.” She beamed, holding a hand out to shake it.

Shawn gave Corey a hard stare, warning him to comply and act like a normal person. Corey held his hand up, his bruised knuckles and chipped nails hideous compared to her slim, smooth fingers, black nail polish sparkling neatly from the tips of her fingers. He reached his hand and hesitated for a time in fear of hurting her.

But she took the opportunity and grabbed his hand.

Such an elegant hold, so gentle and kind, smooth soft skin tantalising against his own coarse palm, and Corey felt a thunderous roll of lust hitting the pit of his stomach, falling into his pants.

_This is how her whole body feels…her whole, plump body…so soft…I want to feel it…_

His hand gripped slightly, giving her a loose handshake.

“C-Corey…”

“Nice to meet you!” Sallie replied without missing a beat, being her charming self. “I remember you from yesterday.”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Well, you’re probably gonna see more of me and the girls-”

“Sal!” The thunderous boom of Mick rumbled from the kitchen, and Corey felt his heart sink in fear as he watched the immense giant form of Mick walking through the doorway, his broad shoulders barely missing the sides of the doorframe.

_Shawn wasn’t kidding…he’s a fucking beast…_

Corey swallowed a hard lump as Mick took slow, long strides towards Sallie, hovering behind her like a protective shroud. “When you stop flirting, get your ass upstairs.”

Corey shook slightly. _Flirting…_

Sallie glared behind her, looking up at Mick and stuck her tongue out. Corey saw it, wondering for a split second about how that small, pink thing would feel inside of his own mouth, making wet love with their tongues.

She would taste sweet. Like honey. He was _certain_. As sweet as she smelled…

Sallie gave Corey a polite smile, indicating that she needed to go past him, and Corey timidly pushed himself against the side of the wall, allowing the little goth and dangerous behemoth to walk past them without a problem, the step-siblings hurrying up the stairs.

Feeling a little cold that she wasn’t with him, Corey rubbed his arms against the chill and finally walked into the kitchen, seeing several eyes staring back at him.

Shawn snatched Corey by the ear and yanked him into the centre of the kitchen, introducing to the rest of his bandmates. Corey was overwhelmed with all of the faces, wondering why there were so many men here.

His fingers itched to grab something, and instincts took him to snatch a crushed packet of cigarettes from his back pocket and stuffed a fresh cigarette into his mouth, his shaking lighter eagerly reaching for his lips.

“I would smoke outside.” Came one of the voices, and Corey glared hotly to see the small, long-haired male. He was tiny compared to the surrounding bandmates, his face long and pale with dark eye makeup. Shawn introduced him as Joey, their drummer.

Corey felt the urge to slap him.

“Yeah, Mick doesn’t like us smoking indoors.” Shawn replied, looking back to see the lethal glare Corey was giving to Joey. “And _Sallie_ hates it.”

After hearing that, Corey grunted, turning to the backdoor that lead them to the garage, and stormed towards it, leaving them to calm his nerves and violent needs.


	5. Feral

Corey hated this.

He hated everything about this.

Stood in the far corner of the garage, he glared hotly at the other imposing males around them, feeling their presence glowing with such a pride that he envied. Corey never felt himself to be a proud man, always in the shadows of others.

He felt this even more, and under the roof of his own sweetheart!

Bitterly, Corey glared at the members of the band around him.

That weird dude, the _tree_ …Jim, was it? Lank, black hair that made Corey grimace, seeing it sleek with wetness. Probably grease. The damn _emo_ , with his sad blackened eyes and painted nails. He wore the long sleeve shirts, black and grey.

_Probably cuts his fucking wrists…_

Beside him was an equally weird dude. Corey scrutinized him through the thick smoke of his cigarette, glaring at his fluffy, brunette hair, dressed very similar to Sallie in regard to fashion. Another Goth, with fishnets and a matching spiked collar…he reminded Corey of that pink-haired girl he saw yesterday.

_A boyfriend, perhaps?_

That weirdo, Sid, was perched on a battered armchair, squatting on the seat like a derange gargoyle, his arms and legs jittering in excitement, like he was about to launch himself at anyone nearby. Corey made a mental note of avoiding him, and turned his attention to Shawn, the only familiar face in the garage.

Shawn was talking to another man, a tall slim man with long dirty-blond hair, tied in a rough ponytail. Unlike the others, he wore baggy pants that billowed, an official _Megadeth_ shirt, and a stupid cap. Corey heard him being called Chris…

Pushing the cigarette to his lips, Corey took a long, shuddering drag, filling his lungs with smoke and allowing the sweet poison to seep through his body. Gradually, he blew the smoke from his nose.

Joey was sat on the floor by a small drumkit, his eyes looking up intensely at Corey, judging the new face. He didn’t know what to make of him. He just stood out dreadfully in the band, looking like a sulking little brat. The little drummer didn’t know what to do or say and decided against talking to him. He didn’t understand why, but the new man gave him a terrible, _terrible_ vibe…

He watched as Corey stabbed the tip of the cigarette against the wall, stubbing it out, and tucked the half-used cigarette into his pocket, saving it for later.

Amongst the conversing band-members, Corey spoke up, loud enough to announce his presence to them all, his attention fully on Shawn.

“Hey asshole, where’s the bathroom?”

Shawn blinked, turning around and snorted at his friend, seeing his insult in jest as always.

“Upstairs, dickhead.” Shawn replied. Corey’s eyes glanced down, seeing Shawn holding a strange latex mask of an excessively gleeful clown…Shawn had mentioned about the masks involved with the band. Corey always thought it was weird. But, then again, he didn’t care much for it.

Without another word, Corey shifted from the wall and began to make his way out of the garage, opening the door to the kitchen and leaving the band.

Paul, who was readjusting the cables to his bass, looked over his shoulder.

“He’s a weird one, Clown,” He stated, knowing a lot of his brothers would feel the same. But when Shawn gave them a cheeky smirk, they knew he had something up his sleeve.

“I know.” Shawn agreed, pulling the clown mask over his face. “That’s your new vocalist you’re talking to.”

All of his friends stopped and stared at him.

Corey followed the warmth back to the hallway, turning to the stairs and was ready to walk up.

Something told him to look up, and by instincts he did, feeling his blood running cold when he saw the daunting, great form of Mick standing at the top of the stairs, attempting his own way down. Corey felt his face blanch at him.

Mick gave Corey a welcoming smile.

“Hey dude, you lost?” Came the harmonious boom. Corey’s gaze dropped, refusing to fall for such a pleasant greeting. Mick was the enemy, the _barricade_ between him and his love.

“I’m just…looking for the bathroom.” He murmured, a little grumpily. But Mick didn’t seem to notice it.

“The door behind me.” He replied, placing a massive boot onto the step, and made his way down. Corey pressed himself to the side of the wall, waiting for Mick to walk past him, and when he was at the bottom of the stairs, Corey hurried up the stairway, approaching the cool, soft-blue bathroom, and slammed the door behind him, locking it.

_Fuck…too close…_

Corey was _certain_ that Mick was out to get him, that Mick _knew_ of his obscure fascination for his little stepsister. And it only made it worse with how _calm_ he was taking it. Corey had expected Mick to lock Sallie up in her room, like a distressed princess taken away from her prince.

Corey knew what to do. He was going to find her, to talk to her at last. Not having Shawn constantly looming over his shoulder, instructing him in what to say. He didn’t need the bathroom; it was an excuse to explore the house. He wanted to find Sallie’s bedroom, to see the cute bed she slept her tiny, weary body in, to smell the bedsheets and feel them against his skin, imagining how it would feel all around his naked body, all while his little plump goth was buried beneath his body, trapped and all for him, her own nude legs hugging around his hips, pulling him deeper inside of her as he fucked her-!

A sharp stinging wave of arousal hit Corey, making his cock slightly twitch in eagerness. But just barely managed to control himself, Corey paused those thoughts for tonight.

Sitting on the closed toilet seat, Corey sat there with his head in his hands, his foot tapping in ponder.

This urgency to just take a woman away from her home was unnatural, he understood that. What he didn’t comprehend was _why_ her…of all people. He found himself unable to find a reasonable excuse to why he was so attracted to her. She was cute, he knew that was a pro. Was it simply the shape of her? Or just the way she smiled at him, how she made him feel that inkling of humanity again, even for a brief moment… that genuine warmth of _love_ …no other human had ever made him feel like he _belonged_ …

His cold blue eyes lifted from the floor to see a wicker basket that sat at the corner of the bathroom contently, its beautiful weaved wooden material almost beckoning him to take a peek. Corey had to reconsider his options, seeing that he had locked the bathroom door, and knew he was safe here.

Calmly, he stood up, stepping towards the wash-basket and on bated breath, he grabbed the lid and lifted it.

As expected, clothes were there. Mostly black, knowing that this family wore a lot of black. He snatched the first thing and immediately discarded it, the massive t-shirt that stunk strongly of male hormones reaching his nose, making him lurch back a little surprised.

He was looking for someone small, something sweet and innocent.

Another t-shirt. Still massive.

_Fuck sake!_

His hand dug deeper into the dirty clothes pile, searching for any particular clothing garment that was Sallie’s. He was using his senses to tell him everything. He was trying to find something that felt delicate and light to his fingers, maybe something silky and thin, and perhaps-!

_There!_

Desperately, Corey snatched his arm out of the wash-basket, yanking several items of clothing out of the basket and he stared at the prize he salvaged, falling onto his ass as he gazed at the beautiful set of panties in his lean fingers.

They were simple, black, with a gentle material that would make any woman feel pretty in. He knew from the size of the waistband that it was Sallie’s, enough to cover such a beautiful goddess body.

His fingers shook as he reached for it with his other hand, holding it as if it was fragile, too terrified in doing anything for it.

_I’ve got them…I have them…RIGHT HERE…IN MY FUCKING HANDS… **IT’S FUCKING MINE! MINE!**_

Suddenly, Corey found himself pressing his face into them, smelling the vague scent of female, the intimate scent of a naked woman, something he hadn’t smelt in a very long time, but was so painfully familiar with.

But what was even _more amazing_ was how it smelled _just…like her…_

As if she had her body pressed against him, as if she were physically in front of him. Such a closeness to the scent, such a sentimental feeling he felt, rubbing the silken fabric against his coarse cheek, soothing all of his terrible battles during his life, healing him.

And, of course, he buried his nose into the fabric, taking a long, addictive inhale of the scent, his own body cramping and squeezing desperately in need for her.

His hand found his cock through his stiff jeans and tried to soothe its ache.

“So…cute…” He whispered lovingly to himself, slowly standing back onto his feet and pulled the panties back, observing them now. An idea occurred to him, and pulling them and holding them out, he pressed them against his own hips, judging the size difference between his hips with her own. The panties, naturally, were much wider than his own hips, and Corey felt his mouth water to realise how _womanly_ her body was, something so sexy and appealing about a woman with defining curves and wide hips.

He was fed up with chasing skinny women that could barely straddle his thigh…here was a deity on earth near him, and he would do anything to have her on top of him, _dominating_ him. Making him her _slave…_

_I will fucking do anything for you…_

Realising he was in the bathroom for far too long, he had to hide all evidence of his intrusion. Folding the black panties into a neat square, he tucked it into his back pocket as if it were a handkerchief, snatching up all of the clothes and throwing them into the wash-basket, closing it and quickly flushed the toilet, trying to make out that he wasn’t doing anything discriminating.

When all of the evidence was gone, Corey glanced back at the mirror, to quickly check to see if any traces of his naughty act was there and satisfied to see there wasn’t anything there. In a strange manner, he found himself feeling a little more…masculine now.

He had hunted down a possession of his lover, and now it was his to keep.

_It’s like she’s trying to play with me…_

Corey finally turned to the door, unlocking it and left the bathroom. Just as he stepped out, he had a quick look through the open doorways along the hallway. He felt the presence of someone behind one of them, and he bit his lower lip in sick glee, knowing who it would possibly be.

On silent feet, like a predator, Corey began to walk down the small hallway, approaching the last door at the end. He _knew_ what room that was. The closer he got to the room, his heart was accelerating in speed, throbbing inside of his ribs and moving further up into his throat. 

And by the time he reached the doorway, he bent down, leaning and his face peeked past the doorway, looking at the room beyond.

It was an adorable room. An assortment of rock-band posters hung around the room, with a curtain that was slightly crooked, as if it had been pulled open at such an alarming speed, like someone had woken up late. Her bed was neat, with the appealing design of soft-pink blossoms on top of a dark, blue background, rather oriental. He was expecting more skulls and tombstones in her room but realised that her room was full a cute trinkets and little features. For instance, he noticed a white mermaid ornament that rested on the bedside table, lying on her belly, cupping her chin with her hand as she gazed dreamily. And beside her was a cute, artistic figurine of a black cat, modelled with pristine accuracy. Her room wasn’t a stereotype of a goth, it was _her_ room. She made this her sanctuary, her _haven_.

And Corey wanted nothing more than to be inside of it. Right now, he could only peer from the outside, cold underworld, looking through a mirror to a slice of heaven.

He had expected it to be much more tidier; however, he realised that the majority of the mess was boxes of old Halloween decorations, pools of fake autumn leaves and little LED pumpkins scattered over the bed, while ghostly puppets and grim reaper dolls laid flat on the floor carefully. He could hear shuffling inside of the room, the soft muttering of Sallie just beyond the wall.

It sounded like she was talking to a little child, or even a baby.

His stomach dipped cruelly at that thought…

But relief filled him promptly when he heard her sweet giggle, swiftly followed by a loud _meow!_

The chirp of a cat approached Corey’s direction, and the dreadlocked man staggered back in horror to find a sleek, ginger cat approaching him inquisitively, looking up at him with giant, emerald eyes.

_Shit, I’ve been discovered!_

Corey jolted away from the door in surprise, his back hitting the banister that lined the stairway and landing.

And soon, Sallie appeared from behind the door, looking up to see Corey and gave him a soft smile.

“Oh, hi. Corey, was it?”

Corey nodded, losing his voice all together as the bothersome cat walked towards him, sniffing at his dirty sneakers in curiosity. Sallie looked at the cat and smiled lovingly, the smile making Corey’s heart calm down, the kind of a smile an angel would send to their lover. “Don’t mind Ginger. He has to investigate everyone first. The boys experienced this treatment too.”

Corey glared hotly at the cat, a low rumble in his stomach warning him that the cat probably knew his intentions and waited for judgement. Thankfully, Ginger stopped investigating, and began to rub the side of his body against Corey’s leg, his tail vibrating in excitement. “Yeah, you’re accepted.” Sallie giggled, placing her hands on her hips as she beckoned the cat with a cute noise made by those kissable, black lips. “C’mon Detective Ging, enough interrogations now.”

On command, the ginger cat chirped again, trotting back inside of Sallie’s bedroom, leaping onto her bed and walked to his favourite spot, circling it for a time before settling down, his stunning jade eyes watching Corey in warmth.

“Heh…cats never liked me.” Corey murmured, a little self-depicting.

“Well, Ginger likes everyone, including you, so you have one cat!” Sallie piped up.

Corey looked at her nervously through the ropes of his dreadlocks, suddenly looking like a shy teenager that was breaking the rules his parents made for him. But Sallie…she held such a welcoming spirit that he was finding it so _very_ hard to turn away from. He was sceptical and so hateful, but once it came to her, she gave him this feeling that he didn’t needed to hide himself. That she was so accepting…

_I just wanna fucking scoop you up and hold you-!_

“Huh…”

“It’s the Hoff you have to look out for.”

Corey looked up, cocking a brow in confusion.

“The Hoff? As in _the_ David Hasselhoff?”

Sallie shrugged slightly.

“Not the original, unfortunately. But he’s my cat. Big massive black beast. He’s a bit…” Her smile dropped slightly. “…aggressive.”

“H-How come?” Corey murmured, tilting his head.

“He was a street-cat. Incredibly feral. I saved him.” She perked up suddenly, showing pride in her angelic acts, making Corey’s lust for her more intense. She was simply so precious, an angel on earth, a _hero_.

Sallie stepped back into her room, and Corey remained still, uncertain whether he should follow her inside. As much as he wanted to, he knew that was something Shawn wouldn’t approve of…unless he was _invited_. And so, when Sallie peered around the corner and waved her hand to him to come inside, Corey’s chest tightened in suppressed excitement. “You can come in and chat, if you want. Saves us being alone while they have band practise. Just be careful, the Hoff’s in here too, so ignore his hissy-pissy noises. Just don’t go near him and give him space, or I will kick your ass.”

_Please do-!_

“Is he like this with everyone?”

“Mostly strangers. _And men_. He’s only just gotten used to Mick. But he’s a good boy and makes a fantastic bouncer for me.”

After a moment’s pause, Corey carefully stepped inside of the room, and immediately smelled something sweet and spicy in the air. Something about it reminding him of a day when he was a child, the sweet, distinct smell of pumpkin spice…

He took note of the lit candle that sat on the dresser beside him, and realised it was that. The carpet felt so plush, so soft beneath his shoes, he wanted to strip off his clothes and simply lie on it naked, the sensation of home just overwhelming, and he wanted to, badly. Have her lying next to him, also naked, rolling on the floor of her bedroom-

His eyes caught onto the accessories that laid on the bedside table.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Ginger watching him with a twinkle in his gaze, seemingly just as pleasant.

So it didn’t make sense when he heard a terrifyingly-loud hiss from a creature behind him, followed by a brutal growl that sounded like it came from a panther.

“Oi, David, shut it.” Came the soothing scowl. Corey immediately turned to the source of the noise, and to his amazement, he noticed a black, furry cat spiking up from the computer chair he sat upon. Unlike Ginger, this cat was evidently a fighter, with battered scars and torn flesh still healing from his previous fights. He was greater in size too, bulky for a cat, and obviously much older than Ginger. His fangs bared, making Corey step back towards the doorway, forsaken to enter the Hoff’s lair.

David’s piercing eyes locked harshly onto Corey, warning him, and hissed again.

Sallie hurried towards the black monster, hushing, scooping him up without a fear of him attacking her. He snarled in protest, but when his owner hushed him again, a soothing noise, he soon calmed down. Sallie cupped her hand at the back of his head and pressed his face close to her chest, comforting him, her thumb stroking his little pointed ears. Corey watched this scene, to observe how gorgeously motherly she was towards such a hideously angry creature…

_That’s me…I’m that angry creature…she’s so good…_

Corey felt a small smile of want tugging at the end of his lips. After seeing this, he _knew_ she would give him the very same treatment.

“Y-You’re very good…” Corey managed to say over the dam of his admiration. Rocking David in her arms, Sallie looked at him.

“Thank you…” She purred, stroking the cat’s fur gently. “I’m…surprised you’re still here. Normally David scares people _away_ from me.”

_I’m not going to leave your side because of a fucking cat…_

“I…heh…” Having nothing else to say, Corey stepped inside again, creeping closer into the centre of the room. He could tell that Sallie was trying to avoid giving David eye-contact with the new intruder, and so she turned away slightly, puckering her lips and kissing the top of the cat’s head affectionately. Corey longed for such attention.

Continuing his little investigation, he looked passed the Halloween decorations, and was scanning the room for more information about his little goddess. He wanted to know _everything_ about her, and so he was trying to determine details about her beautiful, little life. He noticed her little bag that she came back home with, a lanyard with an ID badge attached to it. It had her pretty face on it, her full name and address, and he recognised the logo at the top corner of the card.

**Des Moines Public Library**

“You go to the library too?” Corey asked unexpectedly. He was lying. He never bothered with the library himself, it was never his place to go. But he was trying to swoon Sallie with the common grounds of interest, and if he had to fake his interests in public libraries just to gain her affection, he was certainly going to do it.

David murmured a growl when he heard Corey, almost hinting that he knew he was lying. But Sallie faced Corey, hushing David lightly before replying:

“I _love_ the library!” She beamed, showing her white teeth against her black, glossy lips, and Corey had to stop himself from thinking how they would feel against his tongue. “Love it that much that I work there.”

_Gotcha!_

Corey smiled, as calmly as he could, not letting the devilish smirk taint his seemingly innocent reply.

“Oh, that must be wonderful.” Corey said in a small voice, glaring hotly as David snarled between them again. Corey had found himself inching closer to Sallie, wanting to press himself against her, but David’s cruel growls warned him to get away from his owner, and Corey listened, stepping back cautiously.

“Oh, Dave…” Sallie mewed lovingly, kissing the cat’s head again before looking at Corey apologetically. “Give me a moment.” She excused herself from her bedroom, and David practically roared in fury to find Corey still standing in his room. Corey saw the shocking gold eyes in the black voids of his fur. The cat was promptly hushed again as Sallie brought him into Mick’s and Barbie’s bedroom, sheltering him from strangers. This was normal for David, more when there were house-guests and friends over, or when a house-party was set-up. While David often settled contently in the safety of Sallie’s room, it was rare she’d have guests in her bedroom, so she would let him sleep in her stepbrother’s room.

This gave Corey a moment to look around the room as impatiently as possible, looking for any traces or items that caught his attention. He quickly saw a small bottle of perfume on the bed, slipping from the bag. It was pocket-sized, perfect to take for daytrips.

_That must be the perfume she wears-!_

Without a second thought, Corey snatched it up and stuffed it into his jean pocket, his heart jolting slightly when Sallie entered her room, unaware of his little kleptomaniac act. He pushed both hands into his jeans, trying to appear casual.

“There.” Sallie sighed, shaking her head as she looked at Corey sadly. “We think he’s been abused by his previous owners, who are probably men. He just has this thing against men.”

“That’s shit…” Corey replied, his tone soft, trying to ease the jitters of adrenaline in his voice. “Has he ever hurt you?”

“He still does sometimes.” His goth princess approached the end of her room, sitting down on her computer chair and reclined. Corey couldn’t stop himself from staring at her breasts, watching them roll into soft balls on her chest. His fingers fidgeted inside of his pockets. “When I first had him, I was the only one willing to grab him, even if he bit and scratched at me. But now, I’m immune to his attacks. They don’t bother me. Though…I’m the only one who can pick him up without much hassle…”

“Hmm…” Slowly, Corey sat himself onto the bed, watching to see if his goth queen was okay with him doing so. She didn’t seem to mind. “How long you had him for?”

“Two years now,” Sallie sat up, lowering herself down and began to unbuckle her boots. Corey promptly leaned forward, watching deeply as Sallie began to remove a piece of clothing. It was just a pair of boots, but he would soon see those adorable little feet… “By the way, how long have you known Shawn?”

The question was sudden, and Corey found himself trying to pull himself out of his licentious daze. Luckily, he caught himself in time.

“Oh! Uh…I’ve known him for many years…since high school, actually.”

Sallie looked up from her boots, smiling sweetly, and Corey tried his hardest not to whine at such a beautiful expression.

“Wow, longer than Mick. Mick and Shawn met during a night at _The Crazy House_ , a few years back, and ever since then, the bellend never left us.”

“Bellend?”

Sallie halted, and she giggled in realization that a bit of British culture slipped out of her.

“Dickhead, basically.” She corrected herself. With a sigh, Sallie pulled both boots off her feet, placing them to the side neatly and stood up, allowing her aching feet to meld into the softness of her carpet.

“You’re small…”

The little goth looked back at Corey, seeing the way he looked up at her from where he sat. She noticed something a little odd, his eyes holding a deeper meaning than friendly interaction. There was something strange and unusual, something she didn’t often get.

And in a weird way, she felt attracted to the way he looked at her…

But, bitterly dismissing any hope for that kind of attention, she scoffed a laugh.

“Bah, I get that a lot. How tall are you?”

Without replying, Corey stood up, and he stepped towards her. Sallie waited, knowing he was going to compare his own height with her own. And so, when he stood before her, she felt the heat ebbing from his body, the approach of the male body being so close to her and she was surprised to find herself feeling a little thrilled by the closeness. It wasn’t Mick, but a _stranger_ …

Corey stood in front of her, their toes practically touching, and he looked down at the little precious thing before him, seeing how she only reached to his chest. She was much smaller than he realised, and that only made her much cuter, much more…

_So precious…so little and innocent and sweet and cute and harmless…I need to protect her. She needs me. **SHE NEEDS ME.** _

His heart was racing again. He could feel it inside of his skull, throbbing so hungrily at the awareness that _she_ was standing so close to him. How close…and how private this was…

That immediate intimacy with another human, and she was just standing there. Ready for the taking.

_Kiss her…Kiss her…_

Corey lifted his hands up, and suddenly seized Sallie’s arms, making the little curvy woman shake in surprise. Her eyes widen, looking up to see that Corey was now edging closer to her. He bowed down slightly, his eyes level with her own, staring down at the gorgeous deep-blue galaxy that was her eyes. He could see his own reflection through them, huge divine windows into her soul. Her breathing bounced off his lips and nose, and he could smell it, wanting to taste her so desperately.

Their breathing both became intense, deep and shaky between their faces, which were inches away from one another.

Sallie held a hand up, as if attempting to protest his close contact, finding it a little disturbing…but deep down, something was telling her that she was okay, that she was _allowed_ , and safe. Though she was sensing the impending arrival of a kiss, and a kiss from a stranger would be incredibly weird.

Pressing her palm against his chest lightly, she was going to attempt to push him away, knowing it would be the right thing to do…

Her fingers slowly gripped onto his shirt, ever so subtly pulling him towards her-

Corey abruptly felt a rush of cold chilling his entire body, a primal warning that he wasn’t supposed to be doing this, and he snatched himself away from his goth bride when he noticed Shawn standing in the doorway, a look of thunder in his eyes. Corey stepped back, and Sallie turned to see Shawn, flashing him a little uncomfortable smile to have been discovered at such an awkward situation.

“O-Oh, Shawn! Hey, didn’t hear you come in.”

Like a light-switch, Shawn looked at Sallie and gave her a bright grin.

“Yeah, came up to see if dickhead didn’t get lost in the toilet, but glad he’s alive and well.” When Shawn looked back at Corey, he shot him a subtle dangerous expression, one that clearly stated: _We need to talk._

Corey reclined back into the sulking man, his eyes falling to the floor. “Besides, I need Corey anyway. I have a surprise for him.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Sallie piped up, brushing her hair behind her ear and looked at Corey. “Nice meeting you, Corey.”

“N-Nice meeting you too, Sallie…” Corey murmured, refusing to look at Sallie, feeling far too ashamed to give her a smile, and quickly he hurried out of the bedroom, barging past Shawn’s large belly and ran down the stairs.

Shawn watched him leave, and when he was far away enough, he stepped inside, seeing the red flushes of Sallie’s cheeks.

“Hey, sorry if…Corey’s fucking weird around you.” Shawn said, dropping his voice to a low volume. “He…doesn’t do well with girls.”

“It’s…it’s okay,” Sallie replied, her voice equally small. “Corey seems nice.” But then when Shawn saw her smiling ever so sweetly again, he realised something about this situation didn’t sit well with him. He didn’t fully understand it, but something hinted him that this woman was in danger in the hands of his best friend…

But he could be overthinking. Corey was a complicated man, and sometimes Shawn was loss at words over how his best friend acts.

He had to admit, he was a little unnerved…


	6. Follow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> This chapter contains:-  
> \+ Pillow-Fucking. (Yes, you heard that right.)

Shawn immediately returned back to the garage, leaving Sallie at peace with her excitement in the Halloween decorations. Once reuniting with his bandmates, he explained to them all about the situation.

Their lead vocalist had left their band without a word, completely ghosting them and vanishing off the face of the earth. And when Shawn announced Corey to be their vocalist, the bandmates, _and_ Corey, weren’t too impressed with this sudden news.

Corey rarely sang, and whenever he did, it was coarse and cruel, never obtaining perfect-pitched tones and clear words. But Shawn was convincing him that his voice was exactly what they wanted. The bandmates were sceptical about this too, only exchanging glances at one another. So, instead of throwing it all together as promptly as Shawn wanted to, he decided to let them talk amongst themselves with this suggestion. Corey reclined back in the chair, listening to the band perform a few of their songs.

 _Slipknot_ , they called themselves. And listening to them was almost magical. He heard the intensity of the instruments, how the bandmates seemed to have worked together all at once, this level of deep connection between each other, unspeakable and unearthly. And Corey found himself eluding reality with this band, enchanted with the raw emotion behind their music.

He felt the occasional urge to sing, actually. Feeling this need to just roar his heart out and bellow, joining in the band of misfits. But instead, he remained seated, his hands gripping onto the arms of the chair, and he listened…

He couldn’t really stop thinking about them, and Shawn’s offer was incredibly tempted. Even if Corey wanted to join, the bandmates had not discussed this between one another, and he would have to wait for the council of _Slipknot_ to give him their verdict. But for now, he would have to wait for the next band practise.

When it was time to leave, Corey wanted so badly to say goodnight to his sweetheart, but she was still distracted with her decorations, hearing her sweet murmurs as she talked to Ginger and David. Shawn gave him a sharp look, and Corey knew he couldn’t linger around the house any longer.

And he was okay with that. He had another busy night ahead of him.

His hand patted against his jeans, still feeling his pocketed goods.

All doors were locked. All windows closed and blocked; Corey was isolated within his ruined bungalow again. But each night he returned to his home, he found himself more excited in coming back home, knowing that he was going to be able to make himself feel good again.

And it was all thanks to that precious little speckle.

He could still smell her…

In his bedroom, Corey took out the panties carefully out of his back pocket, unfolding them and placing them neatly onto his messy bed, petting it down and smoothing it out, taking out the bottle of perfume and lying it down beside it.

_I need a little place to hide these…a little chest…my little treasure chest…_

Corey reminded himself to try and get one tomorrow, with a padlock. Should Shawn discover what he had done…

He decided not to think about it. Shawn wasn’t _here_. Corey was free from his policing.

The dreadlock male stood before the little gifts he acquired for himself, paused, and slowly began to unbutton his pants, feeling the hardness promptly stiffening against his body, his balls aching for a release. The intense moment he shared with his little goth angel was indescribable. He swore he felt her pulling him closer, edging for a kiss.

She _wanted_ it, she wanted _him_ …

His pants fell to his ankles, kicking them off his feet quickly and he stood firmly onto his feet, which was a little apart, both hands cupping at his cock and balls and gave them a loving squeeze. He didn’t understand this sensation, how his little dirty times now feel like romantic dates with a lover. He didn’t masturbate because he was bored and wanted a little excitement, he masturbated now because he felt the absolute _desire_ in fucking, his mind now intoxicated with this lust Sallie had injected inside of him. Unable to stop thinking about her, his body always starved for her affection.

He needed her more than ever…

While he stroked himself, he picked up the perfume bottle and looked at it calmly, eyeing up the brand and name. He had never heard of them before, but they were all to do with _Sallie_.

_Is this even the right one?_

A little stab of doubt hit him, cooling his momentum for a moment. Turning to his flattened pillow, he stepped towards it and sprayed a small sprinkle of the woman’s perfume onto his pillow.

He leaned down, and sniffed-

Immediately, he threw himself onto the bed, pant-less, and clung onto the pillow as if it were Sallie herself. It smelt _just_ like her, the scent so flowery and rich that he found it almost a mistake to believe Sallie had just materialised before him. Like a ravishing animal, Corey hunched down onto his bed, gripping his pillow desperately and pulling it close against his arched body, hugging it, surrounding himself with the smell of _heaven._

He grinded his erect cock against the softness of the pillow, his body electrified with this concept that he was practically holding Sallie against him, her plump thighs squished against his pelvis. Corey threw his face into the mattress, planting his forehead into the grimy bedsheets and felt his entire body set alit on fiery arousal.

He applied more pressure onto the pillow, and realised he was about to do the unspeakable.

But with his mind now hotly wired with the raw urgency of fucking, he didn’t take a moment to change his mind. Already, he was pushing his hips into the pillow, feeling the texture of cotton grinding cruelly against his foreskin. His bottom lip was bitten back hard, feeling the slight stings of pain, but he was too far gone to stop.

The sensation in fucking his pillow was too good to stop now. He was already desperate as it was, and he was just ready to do whatever made him feel good. The softness of the pillow yield beneath his palms and grippy fingers, feeling his dirty nails holding onto the moulds of softness, imagining them to be her hips, her asscheeks so large and fleshy. He pulled the pillow off him for a split-second, before forcing it back against his cock, feeling it pulling and rubbing against him coarsely. Each thrust emitted another whiff of the perfume he sprayed, reminding his brain that he was fucking a fake Sallie, but it was Sallie’s scent, the closest thing he was going to get in having her.

He remembered the panties, his left hand scrambling over the bed in search for it, blindly, as he fucked the pillow. His fingers found them, and without considering the weirdness of it, the desperation in have the reality of Sallie in his life there, he shoved the panties against his face, sniffing it deeply.

And it _worked_. Already, his body was practically shaking as he came hard against the fabrics of his pillow. He had to finish the job quickly, throwing the pillow away as he came hard, spewing his cum across his bedsheets and snatched at his cock, jerking himself off quickly with a cry, a small wail of his lover, his balls tightening at each pulse.

His howls seemingly haunted, desperate and lustful, but mourning for the lack of his sweetheart.

He needed her…

He _will_ get her…

* * *

‘The Hoff’ himself yawned, stretching himself in a tall arch next to his calm brother, coiling back into a large ball on the armchair and rested his head on his paws, a black void against the carroty-orange circle that was a sleeping Ginger. Both were at peace that morning.

Mick was perched on his barstool, leaning his elbows on the breakfast bar as he read the newspaper with one hand, the other holding a piece of toast. His breakfast. He typically didn’t eat much in the morning, it was simply something to help his stomach wake up to before he started his ritual in the gym.

Toast crumbs fell from his munching mouth and sprinkled onto his black beard. He didn’t seem to notice.

Sallie skipped down the stairways, her boots clunking at every step, and soon she arrived into the kitchen.

“Hey Mick, have you seen my perfume?” Sallie asked, making her giant stepbrother look up from his newspaper.

“Uh…no.” He shook his head. “I haven’t seen it.”

“Hmm…” Cocking her brow, Sallie glanced around the kitchen, her hands on her hips. “I swore I’ve seen it somewhere.”

“Moron.” Mick said in a soft, playful tone, taking another loud bite of his toast, adding more crumbs into his beard unknowingly. “You’ll find it.”

“Well, I’ve borrowed yours anyway!”

Mick’s icy-blue eyes glared up at her.

“ _My_ cologne?”

“Yes!”

“You’ll smell like a man!”

“Hey, it’s fine!” Sallie smirked, waving her hand dismissively at the absurdity of her actions. “It’s a nice man-perfume, anyway!”

Mick grumbled, but saying nothing, his eyes returned to the newspaper. “Well, I’m gonna go to work now. Liv and I are going to set up the Halloween events for next month!”

“You go have fun, spud.” Mick replied, finishing off his toast and brushing the crumbs on his shirt. Sallie tilted her head.

“You saving those for later?”

“Hm?”

Mick looked back at Sallie, and when she pointed at her chin, indicating his beard, Mick looked down and almost snarled in frustration, smacking at his lengthy, black beard, crumbs flying everywhere.

“You’re fucking hoovering today!” Sallie announced loudly, knowing that Mick was going to lay the chore of vacuuming his mess when she returned home.

“I was gonna do it anyway! Barbie is coming back home, and if she sees this place the way the guys left it last night, I’m gonna be sleeping on the couch!” Mick boomed, waving both of his meaty hands at her. “Go! Go, you dork! Before you’re late!”

“I’ll catch you later!” Sallie ran towards Mick, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his black hair. Mick patted her arm gently in return.

And with that, Sallie hurried to the door, brushing her fingers onto Ginger and David as she left, closing and locking the door behind her.

Taking her headphones out of her bag, she placed them over her ears, the massive black cushions that cocooned her out of this world with heavenly heavy metal. She set a playlist for her walk, and when Metallica’s _Load_ album burst into life, she smiled contently and walked down the little steps, taking her usual route.

Sallie, while still very aware of her surroundings, was often left to her thoughts when music was played, allowing her to eliminate all of the anxiety she had to endure with terrible thoughts she confronted the previous nights. As chirpy and as sweet as she may be, she found herself to still be healing from…all of that.

_Thank god I blocked him…_

But it’ll only be a matter of time before they would meet in person again…

She stopped by a main junction, her eyes gazing up and looking around, waiting for the line of cars to go past. The road cleared up eventually for her, safe enough for her to cross over.

Further ahead, her path was lined with a small, lush park. It wasn’t the greatest park in Des Moines, but it was a comforting little spot to relax after a distressing day from work. A figure sat on a crooked bench, a black scarf wrapped around his face, concealing the majority of his facial features, only revealing drained-blue eyes. He dressed all in black, as if attending to a funeral, jeans and his scruffy sneakers, the black hood from his hoodie doing wonders in keeping him anonymous.

His eyes stared beyond, watching as his prey walked across the road, unaware of her admirer.

_She’s going to work…_

He remained still, only his eyes moving, following her movement and admiring her splendour. She was simply walking, but even she seemed to make walking look so elegant. Those fishnet tights had his heart squeeze for her, watching how the fleshy thighs of hers softly jiggle after each footfall. The music she fed herself gave her a stunning air of confidence, reassuring him that she was a magnificent, and divine, dominating woman.

And when she was further away, gather enough distance between them, Corey slowly stood up from the bench and followed her…

_The Des Moines Public Library_. It always brought Sallie clarity and peace whenever she saw those open doors, inviting her back inside a new world, shielding her away from the outside. It was a portal to another universe, obtaining an endless collection of realms tucked inside many books.

It was one of her favourite places.

She entered inside the building without hesitation, removing the headphones and turning her music off, respecting the air of stillness within these walls. The serenity it brought to those who entered always satisfied her. It was like a church, but _better!_

Approaching the main desk, she saw Liv leaning on the counter, reading a book herself. It seemed to be a quiet day, with little to no people in the library. But that was okay, sometimes those were the best days.

Hearing footsteps approaching her, Liv looked up from her _Alice In Wonderland_ book, and beamed a sweet smile.

“Morning,” She said softly, brushing her brilliant ginger locks back behind her ears, readjusting her glasses.

“Morning,” Sallie replied, her voice equally gentle, taking her bag off and tucking it under the counter once she met Liv within its woody confines. “How was it?”

“Slow, but nice.”

Sallie blinked.

“N-No, I mean you and Jim.”

Liv giggled softly at her mistake, lightly tapping her head with her palm.

“Oh! Duh! The date!” Liv placed her bookmark inside the book and closed it, setting it to the side and stayed in her chair, knowing she was going to be giving Sallie a lecture about her date-night. “Beautiful, as always. We went to the movies.”

Sallie sat down in her own chair, getting comfortable. They had tasks to do for today, but they both knew it wasn’t going to take them all day, so a little chat and catch-up was acceptable.

“Oh? And what did you watch?”

“ _The Lion King_.”

Sallie’s eyes widened.

“Ohhh! I heard that was a _very_ good movie.”

“It is! I recommend you watching it.” Liv beamed.

“Still no proposal?” Sallie grinned, receiving a playful punch from Liv.

“Patience is a Virtue!” Liv quoted with a smirk. She stretched her arms for a time, and it seemed to have reminded her of something, her pastel-blue eyes blinking. “Oh! By the way, Jim mentioned about a night-out tonight, with the boys. You coming along this time?”

Liv spied Sallie’s uncomfortable reaction.

“Hmm, I’m not too sure…I don’t know if I’m ready…”

Understandingly, Liv grabbed Sallie’s hand and held it softly.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’ll be surrounded by good people, if asshole comes back, he’ll be ruined by eight men!” She paused. “And a drunk Rose!”

The image made Sallie smile, shaking her head at the silliness of it.

“I know…it’s just…bad memories and all…”

“But we’ll make _better_ memories! TORQUE will be there too! You know _he’ll_ look after you.”

“Pfft! Oh, I know. I’ll have to ask him to hold my hand.” Sallie announced, sharing a joyful laugh with Liv.

Corey’s knuckles bleached at that comment. He was nearby, sneaking inside the library as the girls chattered, and tucked himself by a bookcase near the counter, listening to their conversation.

_TORQUE? The fuck is this guy? And who is Sallie avoiding?_

A deep surge of hatred.

_Did a bastard hurt my darling…do I need to end him…?_

Corey gritted his teeth subtly.

“I’ll consider it.” Sallie replied, answering Liv’s request. “I’ll see…how I feel. I’m just a little scared.”

“I know you are, Sal. But it’s been a few months now. The night-outs aren’t the same without you. You have a _whole_ gang of angry men looking out for you.”

The idea made Corey _sick_. She didn’t _need_ a ‘whole gang of angry men’…

…she has _him_ , and that is all she will need.

Corey waited for a moment, listening to the change of conversation. Something to do with a TV series he didn’t care much for. Pulling his scarf down, he turned to the counter and finally approached it, trying to appear as casual as possible.

He made sure he appeared from the side of the counter, and not directly in front of her… that would come across as weird.

“Hello,” He managed to murmur, trying to force confidence he could not find. Sallie spun around to see him, and he almost forgot how to breathe when she laid her eyes on him, a cute smile pulling at her lips.

“Corey! Hi!” Sallie piped up.

Corey just wanted to weep after hearing such elation in her tone. That sincere sound of someone looking forward to seeing him, the sense of want when he approached her. Girls usually rejected and avoided him, calling him creepy and disgusting.

But not Sallie.

_Nah, she’s my woman…_

Sallie turned to Corey, and when Liv looked up to see the new face, she tilted her head curiously at him. “I didn’t see you, sorry.” Sallie added, resting her elbows on the counter, regarding him with such interest. The biggest spotlight was beaming down onto him, and Corey felt the pressure to perform perfectly for his goth queen.

“I like to hide.” Corey chuckled awkwardly, his eyes dropping to the counter to avoid her intense eye-contact, shy suddenly. It was a terrible error, anyway. He noticed how she was leaning on the counter, her large breasts resting on top of the surface, bulging, looking so soft. He wanted to touch them so badly, just to feel the _weight_ of them. “Um…” He stammered. “I wanted to say sorry for last night.”

Sallie blinked.

“What for? You did nothing.”

_I wanted to steal you…_

“I meant if…I made anything awkward…I’m not…used to people.”

A sweet-tempered smile was his reward for his honesty.

“Hey, it’s okay. I understand.” Sallie took a long, deep breath, and Corey felt it brushing against his shirt. So graceful. “You’re doing very well. I bet the boys made you more nervous.”

“Heh, yeah, they did. Intimidating bunch…”

_That was a lie._

“They’re lovely, I promise you. They’re like brothers.”

Liv carefully watched the conversation, taking note of Corey’s behaviour around Sallie, and she smirked subtly to herself.

A pause between them, with Corey uncertain in what to say. Eventually, he shrugged.

“Well, I need to get going, sadly. I…need to go to the city and buy a few things, but lovely to catch up with you.”

“Always a pleasure.” Sallie smiled, standing up straight. “I’ll see you at some point.” With a cute wave of her fingers, Corey stepped back, bowing his head slightly in respect for his queen, and immediately turned on his heels, hurrying out of the library in a silent movement of introverted panic.

Liv watched him go, tutting.

“That’s adorable.” She commented once Corey was off the site. “So _that’s_ Corey.”

Sallie spun around to Liv.

“You know him?” She asked in piqued interest.

“I know _of_ him.” Liv replied, her eyes returning to her friend. “Jim mentioned him last night. Apparently, he’s going to be their new vocalist for the band?”

Sallie blinked, unconvinced.

“R-Really?” She paused. “Corey’s…so shy though.”

“Hmm. Maybe he’s got a dark secret we all don’t know.” Liv smirked, wagging a finger. “We all have those. Maybe he’s secretly a loudmouth.”

“I…find that hard to believe.” Sallie smiled, however, finding the idea of the shy Corey singing strange yet adorable.

“Jim isn’t too sure of him.”

“Why’s that?”

Liv shrugged.

“I don’t know. He says he gets a bad vibe from Corey…”

“Huh…” Disappointment leaked in Sallie’s voice. “But then again…they need to give him a chance. He’s obviously been alone for so long, it’s probably difficult for him to be around loads of new people.”

“Hmm, maybe…”

There was a moment of silence, the friends contemplating their theories. Then, with a snigger, Liv added: “You totally want him.”

For the first time, Sallie shot a hard glare at Liv.

“Fuck off!”

“Ohh, c’mon, I’ve seen the way you looked at him. Like two cute students crushing on one another.”

“There will be blood in this library if you don’t shut it.”

“Aww, c’mon Sal, I was jesting!”

“Hmph. Sure.”


	7. HEX

There was a familiar knocking on the door to his bungalow, and Corey couldn’t help but snarl. He knew who it was, and while that never seemed to bother him before…today, for some reason, he just wanted to be left alone.

Reluctantly, he stood up from the sofa, throwing the remote control carelessly onto his seat and walked towards his door. He was half-dressed again, the sultry warmth of Autumn making his bungalow too stuffy. The lack of open windows made it worse, the scent of sweat and musk stifling in the air.

Corey unlocked the door, removing the bolt and chain-lock, opening it to see Shawn standing on his porch. He looked a little better compared to yesterday after band practice. But the moment Corey opened his door, Shawn got a whiff of his bungalow and turned his head away.

“Fucking hell, dude…”

“What?” Corey murmured, clearly displeased with the reaction.

“Crack a fucking window. It _stinks_.” As always, Shawn approached the front door, inviting himself inside Corey’s home, and Corey didn’t stop him. The dreadlocked man only rolled his eyes and closed the door after him, locking it up.

Shawn stood in the centre of the bungalow, glaring at the mess that seemed to have grown in stench and quantity. Shaking his head, as if he were inspecting the bungalow, Shawn tutted. “Dude, this is getting worse.”

Corey said nothing, but it didn’t stop him from snarling silently in response. “Just…shit everywhere.” Shawn faced the sofa, seeing a single sock hanging off the arm of the sofa and picked it up. “Can you not be bothered washing your damn clothes too?”

“I wouldn’t touch that if I was you,” Corey said with a slight, suggestive smirk. The Clown had to think for a moment, and realization struck at him, making him yelp and throwing the sock away, wiping his hand on his jeans.

“Hmm, gross…”

“You wanna drink?”

“Nah, nah. This is just a fly-by visit, just to make sure you’re alive.” Shawn replied, placing his hands on his hips and turning to his best friend. “Though, you should really consider tidying this place up, if you ever want Sallie to come over.”

“Pfft! Like she’d want to deal with me anyway!”

Deep down, they both knew Corey was bluffing with his absolute desires.

“ _Anyway_ , there was another reason why I came here.” Shawn tilted his head at Corey. “It might be of interest to you.”

Corey folded his arms, watching Shawn pace around his littered bungalow, his sneakers kicking empty cartons of food around to make a new path to the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“The guys from the band are interested in having you as their vocalist, but they decided to invite you out tonight, just to break the ice and shit.”

Shawn watched as Corey hesitated, and it worried him how a man who loved his drink was delaying the invite of a crazy night-out. Then Shawn planted the bomb on him. “I heard Sallie’s coming out too.”

That perked Corey up, and Shawn smirked in victory.

_Oh shit, yes, that’s right! Sallie was considering it!_

“So…is she _actually_ going, or are you just assuming?”

Shawn flashed his infamous grin at Corey.

“Oh, she’s going. I’m gonna _make_ her.”

“Don’t…make her, please.”

“Hey, it’ll be great for you both! You get to go and socialise, like a normal fucking human being, and you can spend time with her. I heard she hasn’t been out for a while too,”

_Someone is scaring her…I must find them…_

“Any idea why?” Corey asked carefully, and to his annoyance, Shawn shrugged.

“No clue. No one’s really told me yet. Just that she hasn’t been out for a while because she wasn’t comfortable?”

“Hmm…”

“Maybe you can find out,” Shawn smirked, nudging Corey hard in the gut, rewarded with an annoyed grunt. “Once you get a bit of alcohol in you, you’ll be chatting Sallie all night!”

“I…I would like that.”

“So,” Shawn was beside him now. “You coming?”

Corey smiled.

* * *

**_HEX_ **

_Fucking hell, I haven’t been here for YEARS…_

Corey couldn’t help but recoil slightly at the sight of the tall, black tower, a spire at the tip of it like an old Victorian building. It was becoming derelict, aging over time. What was once a tower of office buildings was now a party construction. He was certain he was still banned from this place…

A bitter sample of saliva stung Corey’s tongue, and he subtly swallowed.

“I thought we were going to the _Crazy House!_ ” Corey exclaimed, glaring at Shawn, who was grinning regardless of Corey’s remark.

“Yeah, this was Joey’s idea. He’s meeting a few of his buddies here.” Patting Corey on his back, he encouraged him to step towards the doors. “C’mon, the others are waiting.”

Corey pulled back, refusing to step any closer, but Shawn was ruthless, and snatched at his shirt, dragging him to the doors.

To Corey’s surprise, no one seemed to recognise him. Despite it being several years since his last visit, where he laid on the floor and let girls piss on him on the dancefloor, he was certain they would remember him and forsaken entrance. And so, it was a strange, bittersweet reunion with an old abode he used to call home.

The heat took him first, and then the heavy music that rumbled further upstairs. They entered without a problem, with Shawn guiding Corey to meet the band. There were several levels in the building, each floor consisted of a different theme in regards of music genre. It was similar to _The Crazy House_ , though HEX was full in with the heavy rock, metal and punk music.

And, of course, they were meeting on the heavy metal floor, level 5.

After a few flights of stairs, sweat was already pooling at Corey’s lower back, plastering his shirt to his back. He wasn’t dressed in anything fancy, but he did try, in which Shawn pointed out. Dark jeans, cobalt-blue, a different pair that wasn’t covered in oil, smoke and unspeakable stains Shawn refused to ask about. And Corey treated himself to a black buttoned shirt, which suited his lean form handsomely. Shawn was most astonished; it was evident he was trying to impress Sallie…

…and maybe he just _might_ …if she was here.

Soon, they saw the form of Jim, the man towering and obvious in the crowd of smaller bodies. He was the beckon for their band, being the tallest. And Corey frowned to notice there was a woman in his arms. The one with the glasses and bright gingery-red hair. That Liv…the one that was talking to Sallie. And so, he was certain Sallie was around somewhere.

He could _taste_ her in the air.

“Clown!” Chris hollered, holding a hand up from the table they crowded and sat by, and he slammed his hand onto the wooden surface, inviting him and Corey to join. “Yo, Corey!”

The dreadlocked man was vaguely stunned to hear his name being called, feeling almost included into their circle of friends, and he simply gave Chris a small wave.

Still no sign of Sallie…then again…a lot of girls were here, but no sign of Sallie…

Corey’s heart sank a little in fear.

Shawn and Corey sat around the table, the heavy metal music blasting all around them. It brought Corey a world of comfort, eliminating annoying voices from outside and inside his head. Pulling out a cigarette already, he stuffed it into his mouth and lit it quickly.

“Glad you can join us, Corey.” Another man piped up, and Corey recalled him being Sid, seeing his own arm over the petit shoulder of Harper, her bright-pink hair unmissable.

He didn’t understand it…why were they here and not Sallie? Mick wasn’t even here…did the siblings decided against a night-out?

Did Corey _waste_ his time?

Corey began to smoke his cigarette hastily, his fingers shaking hard.

“You guys want drinks?” Paul offered, standing up from where he sat, and was quickly barraged with several drink orders. Shawn ordered for Corey, of course, noticing how quickly the man withdrew away from all of the new faces. A good heavy stout should be good to ease his nerves!

As the bandmates and their girlfriends discussed matters that didn’t concern Corey, the dreadlocked man decided to try and seek out his little goth queen. But as he scanned his eyes around the dance floor, he was finding it very difficult to find anyone remotely close to her figure and appearance.

“You okay?” Came the soft voice of Liv, spying Corey’s worry. He faced her, feeling a little relieved to see her, finding her to be the easiest to look at, considering he saw her this morning.

“Uh…yeah…”

“Looking for Sal?” Liv smirked lightly, cocking a brow at him.

“Yes.” Came the blunt reply, and Liv hesitated, expecting a bit of banter with the man. He seemed so deadly serious. But she remembered what Sallie said.

“I do believe she’s coming down. Her and Mick are running a bit late.” She replied politely, taking her glasses off and cleaning them. Jim looked down at Liv, his adorable eyes looking rather sorrowful with the heavy black make-up.

“Isn’t Barbie coming back home today?”

“She’s back now,” Harper piped up, listening into the conversation. “I cannot wait to see her.”

Corey blinked.

“Barbie?”

Sid and Jim looked at Corey for a moment with mute-concern, but realising that he had never seen Barbie before, they forgave him for such a dumb question.

“Mick’s fiancé.” Jim said eventually, his voice gentle yet audible in the music. “She’s lovely. You’ll like her. Just don’t try anything with her, eh?” Jim nudged Corey tenderly, implying a playful joke. “She’s taken, dude!”

Corey gave him a cold stare, and Jim flinched back.

“I need a fucking drink…” Corey grumbled to himself, already feeling the stiffness of stress taking over him.

And luck would have it, Paul and Shawn returned with their drinks, a collection of glasses that smelt of acidic, fresh alcohol.

Corey immediately snatched at his _Guinness_ and began to drink it quickly to ease the ache.


	8. Stranger No More

“Barbie!”

Corey almost choked on his Guinness when Liv screamed suddenly, stunned when he heard the outburst and subtly shot a glare at her. But then his own excitement bubbled up when he realised that-

He turned around, seeing the ominous figure of Mick storming through the dancing crowd. Beside him was a new face, a tall, slender woman with chocolate-brown hair and the widest blue eyes. Her eyes reminded him of cats when they were about to pounce on something. Her fashionable attire was something he had not seen before, the steampunk theme of brass, gold and black, small decorative cogs lining her sleeves, weaved in silks and velvet, elegant high-heeled boots fashioned with small golden cogs.

_Fucking hell, that’s impressive…_

And as Liv practically jumped out of Jim’s arms and hurried to reunite with Barbie, with Harper promptly following, Corey noticed the little figure of his goth queen tucked behind Mick, using her giant stepbrother as a protective wall.

Corey wanted to stand up from his seat and wrap his arms around her, holding her ever so close, to smell her hair and feel that plump, rounded body against his, but he reluctantly restrained himself, completely aware that he had an audience.

_Act normal…act normal…_

His leg began to bounce beneath the table, more aggressively than before as the new arrivals approached, the bandmembers greeting their fellow brother. Harper and Liv were far too excited in seeing Barbie to talk to Mick and Sallie right away, which was okay. They haven’t seen Barbie for a week, for she was out of town to see family due to the upcoming wedding plans.

Mick turned away quickly, approaching Sid and wrapped his arm around him, giving him a beefy hug as the men roared with laughter.

Corey focused his attention on Sallie, seeing her looking so suddenly lost without her big stepbrother, and she stood there, a little awkwardly, uncertain in what to do.

Her eyes found Corey staring back at her, and a smile of relief came to her, warming Corey up with a sensual heat of arousal.

“Hey,” She managed to say under the pressure of the heavy music. Corey decided it was acceptable to leave the table, losing interest with the bandmates for a time and approached Sallie, the Guinness glass in one hand.

“Hey, I’m glad you’re here.” Corey replied, giving her a sweet smile. “It’s been a very long time since I was last here, and I’m…pretty nervous.”

“I’m nervous too.” Sallie mewed. “It’s been too long for me too. I’ve been…avoiding this place for a while.”

“How come?” Corey asked, genuinely curious. Sallie opened her black-glossed lips, about to reply, but then she lost track of their conversation, beaming a wide smile when the small figure of Joey was abruptly beside her.

“Hey Sal!” Joey grinned, pulling Sallie into a firm hug, in which she returned, holding onto Joey.

Corey instantaneously resented Joey, his eyes darkened, glaring down.

He registered Joey before him, taking in his small frame and tiny height. Corey was only a little bigger, but his ego boosted him the thought that he was greater than Joey because of his extra height. His hands and arms looked so slim compared to his own, and Corey realised how _very_ easy it was for him to grab Joey’s throat and choke him…

Long, sleek hair, black with red highlights, framed his slim, pretty face, dark eyeliner around his narrow eyes.

_Fucking girl…!_

When they broke the hug, Sallie looked back at Corey, who quickly reset his expression to neutral, not wanting his little goth queen to see his inner thoughts. “You wanna drink, Sal?” Joey asked, his arm over her shoulder and held her there, almost as if he was silently telling Corey that he had no chance with her, and that made Corey livid more and more. Any form of male contact Sallie had with another guy…he wanted to hurt. Hurt so _badly_ …

“Sure.” Sallie replied, and Corey promptly stepped forward, edging closer to his little goth queen.

“I’ll pay.” Corey offered quickly, his eyes elusively wanting onto Sallie. Joey regarded Corey as if he were dirt under his shoe, but Sallie shook her head, giggling.

“It’s okay, it’s a _really_ expensive drink.”

“I’ll pay.” Corey offered again, his insistence rawer this time, and Joey didn’t like it. “What is it?”

Sallie gave him a cute grin.

“Water.”

Corey blinked, a little confused, and then he soon realised her joke.

_She doesn’t drink…_

“O-Oh!” He chuckled softly, shaking his head at her. “You cute moron,” He cooed fondly, and felt joy when Sallie smiled shyly, taking his little sweet name happily.

Joey faced Sallie quickly, patting her arm.

“Hey, why not you take a seat and Corey and I will get your drink?” Joey suggested. Sallie agreed, thanking both of them as she approached the table, greeting the rest of _Slipknot_.

Corey watched as Sallie walked away, finding her presence so enchanting, so beautiful, how could a queen like that bless a shithole like this.

He felt a small hand grabbing his wrist, pulling him over.

“C’mon,” Joey ordered, and strangely, Corey followed, snatching his hand back a little bitterly.

“I don’t need to be walked.” He grumbled, seeing a dagger-glare from the little drummer. And just as they approached the bar, waiting to be served amongst the waiting crowd, Joey turned to Corey, his black brows frowning at him.

“I don’t like you.” Joey stated bluntly, and Corey looked down at him, giving him a cocky smirk, which only angered Joey more.

“Cool.” He said, finding Joey’s temper a little amusing.

_Cool?! Was that all this bastard was going to say?!_

“I don’t trust you.” Joey sneered, holding an accusing finger at him. “You may become our vocalist, but until you lay off the eyes with Sallie, I’m not your friend.”

A cynical smirk tugged at the end of Corey’s lips.

“That’s fine. I didn’t ask to be your friend.” And he looked away, waiting for a barmaid to notice them.

“I’ve been watching you,”

Corey looked back at Joey, waiting for him to continue. “I don’t like the way you watch her, the way you _stare_ at her.” Joey snarled. “Have you not seen a fucking woman before, dude?”

“I’ve _never_ seen anyone like her.” Corey said slowly, his voice a rumble of lewdness. “I _really_ like her.”

“Whatever you’re thinking of, it’s not going to fucking happen.” Joey stated promptly, his small chest heaving in frustration. “She recently broke up with her last boyfriend, the last thing she needs is another psycho like you following her, sniffing her ass like a dog.”

That image made Corey’s lower stomach clench dully, wantonly, the small flick of lustful ember igniting.

“Ohh, don’t give me ideas, toyboy.” Corey found himself growling back, rewarded with a disgusted glare from Joey. “Lemme guess…” Corey grabbed a lock of Joey’s hair and twiddled it in mock friendliness. “You want her pussy too?”

Joey snatched his head away from Corey’s hand, shooting a hard, stabbing glare at him.

“Fuck off, dude! I see her like a sister!”

“Nothing’s stopping you from wanting to give her a good time.” Finding Joey’s irritation was bringing more joy to Corey than he realised, he decided to keep going, and he soon found himself unable to stop taunting at the poor, small drummer. And to make it worse, Corey stepped back a little, his thighs slightly apart, his hands poised before him as if grabbing a pair of asscheeks, thrusting his hips slowly. “Just wanna…pull her body close to yours and fuck her like a wild beast?” With one hand, Corey mimicked spanking her ass. “Smack that ass and fuck her until she screams your name-”

His little performance was interrupted when Joey snatched at Corey’s shirt, pulling him down to his height, practically butting his forehead lightly with Corey’s.

“Listen, you dirty _fuck_! You’re not going near Sallie tonight!” Joey warned, and got more incense when he spied Corey smirking mockingly at the little drummer. “I’m going to be by her side _all_ night, so fucking watch out!”

“Next order!” A barmaid called nearby, in which was the right time for Joey to push Corey away from him, giving him one last, hateful glare before facing the waiting barmaid.

“Hey, a pint of water and a Jack Daniels, please.”

Corey’s lip twitched in hate.

 ** _He’s trouble._** Came an ominous voice inside of his head. **_WATCH HIM._**

* * *

Joey didn’t let up on his threat. After fetching his and Sallie’s drink, he had been attached to her hip. Corey didn’t like that. He just assumed it was an empty threat made by a small moron, but it turned out that Joey was just as vigilant as Corey was.

Whenever Corey attempted to have a conversation with Sallie, Joey would pull Sallie aside before she could register who was calling her name, inviting her to meet his friends. Four other look-alikes, with their long red and black hair, some was spiked, others were streaked and long. Corey’s nose wrinkled at their absurd clothing, their skins so pale like vampires, all sharing the same features as Joey.

_Fucking piece of shit…_

He had been trying to distract himself, however, getting to finally mingle with the rest of the bandmates. The alcohol had helped ease him much more, and while Joey was protecting his little goth queen, Corey decided to get to know the others.

_If the others like me, the little shit-face will be outnumbered._

And with that cynical, cruel plan, Corey ended up talking to Mick and Jim the majority of the night. More alcohol was consumed, and Corey was getting louder…and _louder_.

However, Shawn was pleased to see that Corey didn’t lose _all_ touch with himself. While he was evidently getting more drunk as the night went along, the others seemed to have enjoyed his erratic behaviour, finding his dirty jokes and absurd stories entertaining.

Barbie, Sid and Harper moved to the dancefloor; favourite anthems rang throughout the entire floor. They found Joey and Sallie, bringing them into a circle with them and began to dance along.

Corey didn’t join. Not yet. Instead, he only watched Sallie, chewing his lower lip. She was so quaint and adorable, clearly a little shy once it came to moving her body, her little jig simple yet relaxing. It was as if she was holding back this brilliant ease of dancing as wildly as Sid. But she couldn’t find it in herself to unleash that side of her, and so she just swayed her hips, jigged her shoulders and bobbed her head. It was perfect for him, to watch her body move so fluidly, even if she was a little timid on the dancefloor.

Barbie was grabbing her hands and was trying to encourage her to dance more excessively, trying to break the ice of her fear. Something told him that she was much more excitable on the floor than this.

Taking one more swig of his Guinness, Corey stood up, feeling his head empty but not gone, a happy warmth cocooning him.

Mick and Shawn looked up to see Corey walking towards the dancefloor, and Shawn had to muster all strength not to bring him back. He had to act normal, and worried in case Corey was going to be creepy with Sallie.

He shakily took a sip of his drink, watching his friend carefully. He noticed the hostility in Joey the instant Corey arrived, and was simply hoping nothing disruptive would happen. Corey’s position with his _Slipknot_ family was looking good so far! Shawn wanted this to happen, he wanted to give Corey a reason to wake up and get going. He was certain the band would help him…

Corey staggered slightly towards the crowd, all bodies a blur of shadows and bouncing lights. He didn’t care for them, his eyes staring passionately at the little goth he has been watching for some time. Now that he was able to stand so close to her without anyone denying him or looking at him weird, it was _perfect_ for him to get close and personal with her.

What was even better, a song from KoRn burst out, and he heard everyone cheering for it, a national hymn for the headbangers. Even Sallie cried out in glee for it. Corey joined the circle, giving Harper, Sid and Barbie smiles in greeting, completely ignoring Joey’s unwelcoming glare as Corey stood at the other side of Sallie. He looked down at Sallie, and both exchanged sweet smiles.

Sid took the space between the friends, igniting a little game they created mere moments ago. Each verse, a member of their circle would get into the centre of their gather and dance a solo with it. Sid was always first, being naturally born to dance wildly and brilliantly. Harper cheered for her goth boyfriend, watching as his legs skipped in perfect timing with the music, giving his girlfriend a cheeky grin, as if teasing her.

“It’s amazing how he does it!”

Corey heard Sallie say to him, and he looked down, smiling at her endearingly. He leaned down to reply:

“I didn’t even know you can dance- _dance_ to heavy metal like this.”

His hand brushed against Sallie’s arm, and he felt his entire body stiffen in heat. He wanted to touch her again…

He reached down to grab her hand-

“Your turn!”

Corey’s attention snapped back at Barbie, who was beaming a cat-like smile at him. Not wanting to displease his new friends, Corey stepped into the middle and paused for a moment.

_Dance…I can’t fucking dance!_

But he knew what he _always_ did. And so, he ended up doing so.

In an aggressive motion, Corey headbanged to the song, his feet stomping on the floor as he shifted his body in such a violent manner. He heard cheering around him, his dreadlocks whipping at his head and neck harshly at his assertive headbanging, and it felt _good_. He hasn’t done such a harsh headbanging session like this in ages, and it certainly brought back a lot of happier memories.

Once his verse was over, he looked down at Sallie through scattered dreadlocks, beckoning her to the dancefloor. And he watched his goth queen hesitate for a moment, looking helplessly at the others who were trying to encourage her. Just as she looked at Corey, she saw him encouraging her too.

He watched as Sallied puffed her chest out, so cutely, determination in her brilliant eyes and she stood forward. He felt his heart beating quickly as Sallie grabbed onto her pigtails and pulled them out freely, unleashing her thick, brunette hair from its binds, and Corey had to quickly readjust his cock inside of his jeans at the sight of it. How thick and luscious it was, perfect for rough-fucking, his fingers eager to grab it and _pull_ -!

Sallie followed Corey’s dance-style, headbanging along with the music, putting in the occasional windmill, rewarding her with cheers all around her. And just as she staggered to a halt, the sudden headbanging and windmill motions making her slightly dizzy, she giggled cutely, shaking her head at Corey.

“It has been a _long_ time!” She piped up, smiling at Corey ever so thankfully for reminding her of the splendour of her musical culture.

* * *

The night rode on. People were getting more drunker, becoming a little more careless and silly. Corey was vaguely aware that his drunkenness was going to come soon, should he have another Guinness. Shawn, of course, got him another one, feeding his terrible addiction for the alcohol.

But Corey noticed something…

Joey and Sallie weren’t together anymore. In fact, Corey spied Joey on another sofa further ahead, his arms draped around multiple goth girls as they played with his hair, admiring him. He seemed a little drunk himself, completely ignoring Corey’s presence, and was too busy ogling the lovely fans around him.

This was _perfect_. He was distracted by his other lady-friends, which could only mean Sallie was away, alone, _somewhere_.

_Yes, I can be with her without dickhead being around!_

Corey looked at Jim, who was in the middle of falling asleep with Liv in his arms. Liv was sound asleep against his chest, and Corey felt his stomach churn in want to have something like that…he imagined his sweet goth queen lying her head against his chest, so sweetly…

“Jim…” Corey murmured, noticing that Jim didn’t hear him, his eyes slowly closing. Corey nudged him this time, waking him up. “Oi…Jim..”

Jim snorted, looking at Corey through a sleep-fog.

“Waah…what, dude?”

“Where’s Sallie?”

Jim shrugged.

“Fuck knows, dude.” He muttered, reclining back and closing his eyes, falling asleep again. Corey grumbled, finding Jim to be as useful as a box of rocks, and his eyes scanned the room, searching for another person to help locate his queen.

Stumbling onto his feet slowly, he turned to see Mick and Barbie still on the dancefloor, his arms around the little, pretty woman, icy-blue eyes looking down at her adoringly.

Corey imagined that to be himself with Sallie…and soon realised that he was missing a lot in having a girlfriend. He craved for that attention from a woman, and someone as divine as Sallie was who he wanted to be with.

He traced a path towards Mick, tapping the big man on the shoulder, who slowly looked down at him, just as intoxicated as everyone around them.

“Sup, dude?”

“You’ve seen Sallie?” Corey asked, watching Mick slowly blink. But it was Barbie who answered.

“I think…she went outside. Get some fresh air…”

“Hmm…” Mick murmured. “She’s probably…getting tired…we should head home soon…” He muttered against Barbie’s hair, resting his head on her skull and closed his eyes.

That was all Corey needed, and he backed away from the sleepy couple, following his way back outside.

Des Moines was pitch-black, and he was surprised to find himself in a heavy rainstorm, the unmistakable sound of rainfall all around him.

_Shit…I haven’t felt this in ages…_

His eyes drearily looked around for his little goth queen, and it didn’t take him too long to find her tucked at the other side of the building, away from the gathering of smokers. Alone. She stood in the rain, head tilting up, allowing it to drench her body with its rain, cooling her down. She looked stunning standing there, a stance of absolute peace, trying to cleanse herself from whatever was bothering her. And from the way she reacted when she noticed Corey approaching her, he caught her in the middle of some sort of meditation.

She looked a bit abashed.

“O-Oh, hey Corey…”

“Hey…” Corey mewed huskily, standing beside her, the rain plastering his clothes against his body now. “What ‘cha doing…out-out here?” He asked, and Sallie sighed deeply.

“Just…cooling off.”

“You’re wet.”

“That’s fine…” Sallie said in a small voice. “I love the rain…”

A pause.

“You…okay?” Corey asked, and when Sallie hesitated, he knew she wasn’t. “Sal?”

“I’m fine…”

“You’re-You’re not…”

“I’m okay…really…” Sallie lied, but Corey gave her a knowing smirk, telling her that she was terrible at lying. “I mean…I just needed to be alone…”

“Why?”

“Just…sometimes…” She rubbed her arm sadly. “Sometimes I get a bit annoyed at everyone…”

“How come?”

“Because…they’re with someone…and I’m not…”

Corey blinked. That was a good point…she was surrounded by either guys who knew how to talk to women, or her friends with their boyfriends, and while it was sweet that people were together, he noticed how that could make Sallie jealous of them…

Speaking of which…

“So, what happened?”

“Hmm?”

“With your ex-boyfriend.”

Sallie seemed to have hesitated at the question, finding it most unusual for Corey to ask so bluntly.

“Well, I mean…” She stalled, and fearing that she would not explain, Corey gently brushed her arm.

“The guys have mentioned things about your ex-boyfriend…he seemed to have made your life a misery…”

“He…” Sallie chewed her lip in thought. She didn’t want to make her ex-boyfriend entirely a terrible person…but the more she thought of it, what _was_ good about him? He was as simple as they came, a cruel, selfish human. “He wasn’t the greatest…”

Corey shuffled closer to her, his body shielding her from the lashing rain now, feeling its cold heaviness tapping his back aggressively, soaking his shirt. And it brought a strange pleasurable warmth to the little goth, feeling the presence of a man protecting her from the weather.

“Can I…Can I know, please?”

Sallie looked up at Corey, giving him a light smile, weak and tired.

“You’re rather insistent, aren’t you?”

“I know you’re holding a lot of pain back,” Corey replied, rather quickly. “I can just _tell_. You always seem so bright, so happy…you’re always seemingly looking out for people. But who’s looking out for _you?_ ”

Sallie didn’t say anything. Corey’s words did something to her, however, making her inch towards the temptation of dropping her guard.

“I’ve just…been trying to move on, and…” She shrugged. “It’s a little harder than I realised…”

Corey lifted a hand to her face, and before he could register what he was doing, he was brushing a wet lock away from his goth queen’s face. She didn’t seem to mind it…

“Talk to me…”

Sallie stared up at him, her eyes wide and huge, an unspeakable hurt was finally surfacing in those gorgeous cerulean eyes, and Corey had to use absolute control of holding himself back. He wanted to just take her home and look after her, take care of her, make her as _his_ …

Her black-glossy lips partly opened for a moment, her words seemingly failing her. But then she managed to speak again, to Corey’s elation.

“I met him three years ago here, actually…” She began, and Corey patiently listened, his eyes watching her ever so intensely. “We just started talking, exchanged numbers and things just lifted after that.” She paused rather frequently, her mind mustering back terrible memories she was trying to erase. “After a few months of talking, we decided to date… I don’t…really know what I saw in him then, but the more I examined it, I think…it was purely because of the attention he gave me…”

“Did you not love him?”

Sallie frowned.

“I don’t think so. Back then, I was so obsessed with him, I thought I _did_ love him…I tend to…not say this to anyone because it’s fucking stupid…but he gave me a lot of positive attention, to my looks, my personality…he was the first man that made me feel really _good_ about myself. He made me feel like I didn’t have to hide myself…he would call me sexy, and beautiful…he would want to talk to me all the time. We’d stay on phone calls all night just chatting away, even if we were falling asleep.” Her small hands cusped together before him, her gaze falling to the growing puddle of cold water beneath their feet. She looked so majestic and fragile in the rain, her pale flesh glistening wetly. Corey would have felt himself get hard at the sight if she didn’t look so mournful… “He made me feel special…made me feel like I had found the one…” She sniffed against the cold rain. “He made me feel good for being myself. Made me feel sexy, like my body-size wasn’t a problem.”

“Your size is beautiful…” Corey pointed out, as casually as he could possibly be, not wanting to openly worship her as he had desperately wanted to do so. But when he saw her giving him a cynical smile, he knew his words didn’t mean anything to her. Words she has heard before, that she refused to believe in anymore.

“A lot of men don’t think like that. They think you should have an hourglass figure, blond hair, tanned skin…no one wants _this_ ,” Sallie spat softly, holding her hands out before her, indicating her rounded curves and wide hips.

 _I fucking want that!_ Corey felt himself screaming inside of his head, but he had to bite his tongue down.

“What happened?” Corey asked softly, wanting to find out more about this ex-boyfriend. The more information he found out about him, the more he could adjust himself to be the _perfect_ one for his goth queen.

“He…was insistent in having sex with me. He had fucked many times before, but I haven’t. Been too busy focusing on my studies when all of my friends were fucking each other’s brains out,”

Corey’s mouth watered at that thought.

_So, she’s tight as fuck…_

“Did you…?”

“Oh no, I asked him to get tested…to be safe. For my first time, I wanted to be careful. I decided to get myself checked out because…” She snorted softly, shrugging. “It’s free, why the fuck not…” Then her smile dropped. “I was diagnosed as infertile…”

Corey winced.

“Shit, I’m sorry…”

“I-It’s okay…” Sallie hushed. “I’ve accepted it now. I’m not interested in having a family…I can’t stand babies!” Shaking her head, she carried on. “But when I was diagnosed, I felt…” She frowned, her eyes searching the words. “I don’t know…I felt like I wasn’t a woman…I felt like…a broken human…And while it was a blessing for me, in a sense, I could tell he wasn’t happy. He wanted kids. A son, actually, and so when he found out about my infertility, he sorta…distanced himself from me for a bit. It made me feel worse, I had ruined something that wasn’t even my own doing. I wasn’t a woman like all of my other friends…I was just a disaster that no man wanted.”

“I…” Corey halted his protest, closing his mouth and moved his hand to indicate her to carry on. And so, she did.

“After a while, however, he grew back to me. I guess the shock was too much for him. And for a time, I thought he was accepting my flaw. I thought he was going to be okay with it…but it turns out he was more eager in fucking me than ever. Knowing that we can’t have accidents, he wanted to just fuck me. I denied him. _Constantly_.”

“Why?”

“Because I felt too ugly and ruined to have sex…I never felt good enough, in the head, for anything like that. It was hard enough for me to let him touch me. He became cold again, believing I was cheating on him for another man. Which wasn’t true. I wasn’t interested in fucking him at the time, so why the fuck would I’d be interested in fucking anyone else? I felt too fucking ugly to even let anyone touch or see me. Hell, even _I_ didn’t want to fucking see me.”

Corey didn’t say anything for a moment, his eyes dark and heavy with sorrow to hear such a tragic story from his goth queen.

“T-Then what happened?” He asked, intrigued, though he could feel his chest plaguing with a sorrow he hadn’t felt in so very long…

“His coldness was much worse this time. He didn’t call or text me for weeks, unless I was texting him…conversations were numb and prompt. Small talk. Eventually, he texted me and told me how it wasn’t going to work, and he wanted to end it. I was fucking devastated, but that’s not the worst bit…he…” Sallie stopped, her eyes suddenly looking away, unable to bear the intense stare Corey was giving her.

“What…what happened?” Corey asked after a time, knowing that his little goth queen was struggling to compose herself, seeing her small body shake, her voice losing strength in the waves of emotion.

“When we broke up…after a day or so, turns out he was dating another woman…you’d think with something so prompt and sudden after breaking up with your girlfriend of three years…you’d…feel remorse over a loss…but when I saw him with another woman, and I…I just… _knew_ he had been seeing her while we were together…he probably cheated on me, but I will never find those…an-an-ssswers…” Her voice was quivering, and Corey only had to blink to see the little goth look away from Corey, her eyes full of hot tears that shimmered on her thick lashes, looking absolutely heartbroken. Corey hated it. She bit her lip to hold back tears that had much more power than herself, a cute frown of her struggling composure evident that she was ashamed of weeping after a sorry-excuse-of-a-man…realising that, despite it being just over six months since their separation, that the heartache was still there.

Corey simply couldn’t handle it anymore.

Suddenly, he embraced the little goth without another word, holding her against his chest as he pressed his face into her hair. His obsession for her was lingering inside of him, but what outshone it was his woe for this delicate flower that had been harmed by a selfish asshole. He couldn’t just let her cry like that, and he could only grasp onto her to help ease whatever agony he could fix.

In the lashing autumn rain, Corey and Sallie stood in the storm of it, holding onto one another as the little goth wept against a practical stranger’s chest…

…he didn’t feel like a stranger anymore…


	9. Dale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AUTHOR'S NOTES:-
> 
> Hey guys, I'm awfully sorry for the delays in chapter uploads for both CROOKED ROT and THE SUBLIMINAL ONE. It's been a terrible last few weeks, killing a lot of motivation, feeling stressed and depressed with dumb shit. But I'll get through! Forgive me for these slow updates. <3

Sallie recalled last night, so evidently.

When she woke up in her room the next morning, her arms were found themselves hugging herself, lazily. But the hold was there. She was hugging in her dream and finding herself to be empty handed.

But she _did_ remember last night, hugging Corey. How his arms suddenly swept her into a protective shield from this world, and she felt safe for a moment. It was a moment too short. She didn’t mean to cry, but something about it felt relieving, the strain of holding back to appears strong wasn’t there. There wasn’t that weight of cruel resentment and shame. Instead, she felt redemption. 

She was at peace. _True_ peace, for the first time in months.

She wanted to keep hold of him, and he didn’t refuse her, their arms holding onto each other firmly, comfortingly tight. They held onto each other until she stopped crying, but even then she was happy with just resting her face into his chest, holding onto another being and feeling safe. Hearing his heartbeat grounded her, brought her back where she was, a metronome of clarity that she was protected.

_Is this how a boyfriend should feel? He never held me like that before…_

She wanted that again.

Groggily, she slowly sat up from her bed, feeling the warm, fuzzy heat slipping through her curtains onto her back, warming her bed. David was curled up on the pillow beside her face, his fur hot and soft to the touch. She placed a hand on his body, making him chirp in reply, seeing that it was his owner and sleepily shut his eyes again, meditating, feeling his owner’s soft petting. He too was at peace.

_Shit, I’m bursting for a piss-!_

Immediately, Sallie got out of bed and hurried to the bathroom…

From what she remembered, Shawn took Corey home, so he was safe, despite Corey being heavily intoxicated. There had been a few times were Corey was standing too close to her, his hand occasionally touching her. But she didn’t mind it at all, however. If anything, she found herself mentally begging for Corey to touch her more, each skin-on-skin contact he committed onto her just sent a fiery shockwave of lust and contentment, that kind of attraction from a man she rarely got.

It was actually _nice_ to have attention from another man, and one especially as attractive as Corey.

_How sexy was he…_

Sallie almost choked on her cereal, and her sudden coughing perked Barbie’s and Mick’s attention, the couple looking back at her from the other side of the table.

“You okay?” Barbie giggled, giving Sallie a kind smile. Sallie nodded, coughing into her arm and clearing her airways as best as she could. Once she was able to breathe without any issue, she finally spoke.

“Y-yeah, it went down the wrong way…” Sallie replied eventually, taking a quick drink of her coffee before speaking again. “I’m sorry…”

“You sure you’re okay, Sal? You’ve been acting a bit weird today.” Mick asked suddenly. He had noticed something was off with Sallie. She wasn’t as loud or as excitable as usual. If anything, she seemed rather calm. He might have been a bit intoxicated last night, but he was certain he remembered scenes of Sallie and Corey being close. For a time, his drunken mind simply dismissed it as two people being friends…but the more he thought about it…

“Yeah, I’m just tired. Why?”

Mick said nothing, but he gave Sallie a polite smile and began to finish his coffee, leaving his little stepsister feeling perplexed with his silence.

“Ignore him, Sal. He’s winding you up.” Barbie purred, slowly standing up from her chair. She grabbed her cup and took Sallie’s cup. “You want another coffee before we go shopping?”

“Sure thing!” Sallie piped up, stretching her arms. She was still trying to remove the lethargic sensation out of her. She hadn’t slept so good in a long time.

Something rumbled beneath their feet, and Mick looked up, exchanging glances at Sallie for a moment, both asking the same question.

_What was that?_

Very quickly, they realised it was a car. But it wasn’t just _any_ car. This one sounded beefy, powerful…the sound of-

“Muscle car?” Sallie asked Mick, whose black brows furrowed furiously. Just as they agreed, Barbie leaned over the sink to peer through the window, seeing a bright electric-blue muscle car parking outside their house. She frowned in confusion, turning back to the siblings.

“Um…there’s a car outside.”

“What is it?” Sallie asked, only to realise that Barbie wouldn’t really have an idea in what car it was. She wasn’t like Mick and Sallie who were fond of muscle-cars, but she tried to describe it anyway.

“It’s bright blue.”

“Bright blue?” Mick cocked a brow, looking down at the table. “It’s not Chris…”

Barbie carried on watching, seeing a surprisingly short man leaving the car, and was approaching the front door. He didn’t have a package of some sort.

“He’s-”

The doorbell rang, and Sallie stood up, nominating herself to answer the door.

 _Corey?!_ Came the gleeful thought.

Patting herself down, making her look presentable in her long, black dress, she approached the front door and mustered the courage to greet the visitor. But the instant she opened the door, she cried out and went to slam it closed again-

The visitor shoved his foot in the way, stopping her from closing the door.

“Hello Sal!” He beamed, so sickeningly charming, despite his lowkey intrusion. His hand grabbed onto the door, peeling it back so that she couldn’t close the door, and stepped inside. “It’s been a long time, huh? How are you?” He tilted his head. “Did you change your hair? I like it. The pigtails are cute!”

“ _Get out_!” Sallie found herself panicking, her hands pressing onto his chest. She heard the screech of a chair being forced back and knew that Mick was coming to rescue her. The visitor seemed to have noticed this too, and therefore backed away, stepping back onto the porch, but still kept his foot in the doorway.

“C’mon, babe. I just wanted to see how you are.” Dale blinked. “You’ve put on some weight, haven’t you?”

Sallie would have snapped if she didn’t feel Mick’s presence behind her. Mick’s boots stormed on the wood, approaching behind Sallie like a thunderstorm and the instant he arrived, looming behind Sallie, Sallie’s ex-boyfriend backed off further, cowering away from the giant. Mick knew him. He knew Dale Failsworth.

Dale wasn’t the tallest, or strongest. If anything, he was a simple, scrawny man with a _little_ bit of muscle. His hair golden blond, glistening in the brilliant sunlight, with a fringe that casted over one of his eyes. Startingly handsome, his facial features symmetrical and flawless. Jeans and a colourful t-shirt, with an official army-printed summer jacket to go with it. He claimed to have been in the army, but no one knew at this point.

Mick’s large hand came around Sallie and pressed onto her stomach, pulling her back protectively. But he felt a bit of reluctancy in his little stepsister, feeling that she was ready to stand her ground before her torturous ex-boyfriend.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Mick growled, his chest rumbling with absolute threat. And to his anger, Dale smiled.

“I was in the area and wanted to say hi to Sallie. I mean, I know it’s been a few months but we’re still friends, right?”

“No.” Mick and Sallie answered at once, the unison of the negator startling Dale.

Barbie peeked around the doorway of the kitchen, watching the scene. She had feared that Dale would come back, and she was just relieved that Mick hadn’t killed him. Just yet…

“Listen, punk,” Mick snarled, his finger pointing harshly at Dale, wagging it like a dad scowling at his son. “I don’t want you anywhere near my fucking sister again! She isn’t a sex-doll, and you’ve fucking ruined her. I’m gonna give you this one fucking chance to leave unharmed. This is _my_ property, _my_ home. If you do not leave, I will not hesitate to fucking _crush_ you.”

“ _Wait_!” Dale cried out, holding his hands out, and realising that he looked so pitiful for a moment, he chuckled nervously. “Just…just give me a moment…I actually came here to…ask Sallie something.”

Mick growled, but this strangely piqued Sallie’s interest.

“What is it?” Sallie murmured grumpily, and the moment she gave Dale that chance to speak, he reached over and grabbed her hand, disturbing her and Mick.

“Look, I _know_ I fucked up badly. I really have! I didn’t realise what I have lost until I have lost it…and you are the light of my life…” Dale’s face crumbled into sorrow, looking genuinely guilty. “I wasn’t in the right place, or mind, with you. I shouldn’t have treated you like that, and…” He lowered his head down, shaking it. “God…I miss you so much, babe. I love you with all of my heart…I just…” He sighed deeply, looking back at her. “Please, give me another chance.”

He watched as Sallie’s face darkened, mirroring her terrifying stepbrother’s face, and she snatched her hand away as if burnt.

“Fuck no!” She cried out, and Mick lunged over her, his massive hand seizing the small wrist of Dale, who yelped under the alarming pressure of the giant’s grip.

“You little fucker!” Mick snapped, his fingers crushing Dale’s bone. “You fucking _hurt_ her! You made the fucking error, now _you_ fucking live with it! She is moving on, and doesn’t fucking want you!” With an aggressive force, Mick threw Dale back, making the small man stumble down the little steps of the porch. “Get the fuck off my property!”

Dale looked back at the siblings; his face aghast. But then it promptly changed, his handsome features twisting in a cynical bitterness that was familiar to Sallie, and he shot a hateful glare at her.

“You’re gonna fucking regret this, bitch!” Dale bellowed, standing up. “You’re gonna fucking come crying to me, just you wait!” Hurrying back into his car, to which Sallie noticed was a Dodge Challenger, Dale flashed the middle finger at Mick before his last say. “No one is gonna date you! You’re useless without me, you’re gonna die alone! You’re gonna _wish_ you were my girlfriend!”

At this point, Mick had pushed Sallie to the side and stormed down the steps, approaching the Challenger. But Dale was smart enough to retreat, throwing himself into his car and starting the engine, reversing out of the drive and hurried off down the road, the engine of that amazing muscle car roaring in the sky.

Mick was disappointed, really. His fists were balled and clenched hard, ready to punch. Sallie remained inside, pressed against the wall, trying to calm herself down as Barbie comforted her.

“You alright?” Barbie asked quickly, watching as the fury vanished in Sallie’s eyes.

“Yeah, yeah…what an asshole.”

“Ignore him. He’s just mad because you rejected him.”

“Heh,” Sallie grinned. “What a pussy.”

* * *

That angered Sallie. More than she realised.

A small frown was marking her features, her nose slightly wrinkled in disgust. She was trying to figure out Dale’s intentions in returning to her. He was so reluctant in seeing her a few days before their break-up, and suddenly he just turned up acting as if nothing happened…

Sallie didn’t understand the logic behind it.

“He probably realised he lost a wonderful woman,” Chimed the soft voice of Barbie, dragging Sallie out of her angry clouds of thoughts. “He regrets it so much.”

Blinking, Sallie turned around and saw Barbie, who was holding up a flowery shirt, eyeing it up. The scent of strong real leather was around them, standing in a clothes store that was fashioned for metal-heads and goths within the local Mall. Leather jackets, trench-coats and boots hung on neat displays around them, and other assortment of clothes dotted in random places on displayable coat-hangers.

Barbie could tell that Sallie was still thinking over the situation this morning, and she had fallen into a sullen silence because of it. However, when Barbie spoke, it reminded Sallie that she was not alone, and that she should not waste her time and energy onto someone like Dale.

Dale was no one to her now…he was an ex-boyfriend, and she did not wish for him to be back in her life. Though a small part of her was a little uncertain, she wasn’t entirely confident around Dale…a part of her feared the man.

“So…you think he came back to me because…” Sallie stalled, giving Barbie a dull shrug.

_Did he miss me?_

“Because he’s either bored with the other woman, or he’s desperate and alone.” With a distasteful sigh at the very thought of Dale, Barbie hung the shirt over her arm, intending to buy it. “You need someone who would protect you. Who would love you for who you are.”

“Those kinds of people don’t exist…” Sallie found herself bitterly muttering, and Barbie glanced at her, cocking a brow.

“ _You_ exist…” She mewed with a smile. And her smile widened when Sallie said nothing, winning the conversation. “Don’t worry, Sal. You’ll find someone.”

Again, Sallie said nothing, but Barbie knew and understood her doubtfulness. The break-up was still raw, and it was evident to her and Mick. Sallie was always strong enough to hide her issues from the public, but none of their friends saw the goth weeping her heart out in her bedroom, questioning her worth, wondering where she went wrong…and when she received no answer, she only accepted one:

**I’M UGLY**

It’d broke Barbie’s heart. Three days Sallie wouldn’t stop crying, always wondering what was wrong with her. Mick was sometimes too scared in leaving her alone in case anything serious were to happen…

Mick was terrifying that first week. He refused to leave Sallie’s side throughout the whole week and would always give _anyone_ this vicious glare that Barbie didn’t like, his eyes spoke of such unknown violence that Barbie was _certain_ Mick would act upon it. She knew it was a big brother instinct, that his little sister was hurt and heartbroken, and therefore he would refuse anyone to go near her without his permission. Men were in danger, women were still a threat, even mild…

Breaking out of her deep thoughts, Barbie turned and saw Sallie looking up at the leather biker jacket. And soon, she lifted it from the hanger, looking at it almost lovingly.

“Hmm…”

“You interested?” Barbie asked, watching as Sallie turned to the price-tag, winced, and immediately placed it back on the hanger.

“Not for that price…” Sallie scoffed, shaking her head. “Can we get some coffee after this, please?” Came the abrupt wish. Sallie wrung her hands together, feeling them trembling still. And Barbie smiled softly.

“Of course. Just let me buy this.”

Sallie nodded, approaching the door that brought them back out into the Mall and waited, hugging herself with her arms and looked around silently, trying to distract herself from the thought of Dale.

She felt this ungodly sensation that someone was _watching_ her, her frightened blue eyes slowly scanning around every person that she could see, but soon she found that there was no one watching her…

But she could _feel_ eyes on her, and after Dale’s arrival, she didn’t feel comfortable. Her little life shaken now.

Her gaze dropped and she looked away.

In the midst of the crowd at the nearby food-court, Corey sat in his chair, staring at his goth queen from afar. She didn’t seem to notice, which was good. He blended with the crowd around him, using his black hoodie to conceal himself.

He noticed the distress in her features, each whimper she emitted, every time her lip quivered, how her eyes look so sad, it was breaking his heart…

 ** _SOMEONE HURT HER_** …


	10. Trauma

#    


#    


Unfortunately, today was going to be a _very_ bad day for Sallie.

The arrival of Dale had still shaken her, the reminder of his voice constantly bouncing around her skull. It brought back too-real memories, thoughts and incidents she had tried to erase just to move on from him. But now, he had inflicted a dreadful memento of his existence, the sheer thought that he knew where she lived, and that nothing was stopping him from finding her again.

He lived outside of the Des Moines city, often hung around the empty outskirts of the bustling city. That is where she lived too…and to realise that he was still so close to home…

It agonised her little heart so much.

_I don’t want him near me…I want him to go away…_

Dale did seem to falter away from her once Mick came into view, and that gave the little goth a small ounce of relief, but it wasn’t enough to calm her nerves down. She knew, soon, she would meet Dale _alone_ , without the burling wall of her stepbrother near her, and she dreaded for that day.

_I don’t want to leave my home…_

But, reluctantly, she had to. After redoing her black lips and tweaking with the little eye makeup she donned herself in, she prepared the journey back to Des Moines public Library. Her little sanctuary. And while the looming threat of Dale stalking her still remained, she felt some sort of respite to know that she and her co-workers had the authority to kick him out of the building if he disturbed Sallie enough.

But still…she would much rather not see him _at all_. That man, that boy…that _man-child_ had ruined almost every inch of goodness inside of the small, curvy woman, making her feel so useless and as inhuman, a disgrace to her gender, a broken person that was used for merely reproducing, for not having a life and was forced to slave over her lover…that was a life she did not want, and yet she almost convinced herself that it was the _only_ way of life…because _he_ made it so.

That monster had ruined a perfectly happy woman that had to muster whatever strength she could get after so many years of hardships, only to cripple her into a self-conscious, shy and fearful little girl, her own self-esteem non-existent. She was trying to build it back up, as quickly as possible, really. But even with this great deal of rushing and motivation to improve herself, it will _never_ be quick enough to avoid the conflict of Dale.

The air held the heavy scent of earthly rain, the threat of rainfall coming soon, she could feel it in the air. And it wasn’t long before Sallie hurried inside the library, barely missing the beginning trickling of the falling soft rain.

As expected, Liv was there, perched by the reception desk keenly for Sallie’s arrival so that they could start their shift together. And just as Sallie flashed a forced smile at Liv, it faltered at the edges to find that Liv did not smile in return. In fact, she didn’t look happy at all…

A low rumble of worry reached inside of Sallie’s chest.

“Liv?” She mewed, almost inaudible. When Liv looked back at Sallie, she added: “Is…everything okay?”

Liv, honestly, shook her head.

“No, Sal, it’s not…”

_Shit, she and Jim broke up…_

“W-Why?”

Liv gave Sallie a small, sad smile.

“We’re…being made redundant…”

* * *

“That’ll be $11, sir.” The cashier responded, almost robotically, casting a subtle glare of judgement at Corey’s purchases; a box of condoms, ribbed, a roll of black duct tape, zip ties, lube, a couple of packed noodles, a bar of white chocolate and a TV magazine.

Corey opened his wallet and mustered up whatever change he could give, gradually finding the exact amount for the impatient yet bored cashier.

“Corey Motherfucking Taylor!” A roar burst out from behind Corey, startling the poor man enough to throw his change at the cashier, scattering notes and coins everywhere. And when he heard the familiar roar of laughter, Corey didn’t need to look to see who it was.

“Fuck off, Shawn!” Corey snapped, surprisingly harshly before giving the cashier an apologetic, awkward smile, to which the cashier didn’t seemed to mind, nor care.

“Gawd!” Shawn scoffed, throwing his hands on his hips. “That’s no way in greeting your best buddy!” He turned to a woman further ahead, who’s interest perked up when Corey screamed abruptly in shock, and Shawn wiggled his brows at her. “Right, sweetie?” And he was promptly elbowed into the gut by a fuming Corey, forcing the wind out of his lungs and he choked.

“Dude, fucking stop it.” Corey whined darkly, quickly gathering his purchases and tucked them into a paper bag before Shawn could-

“The fuck is with all that?”

Too late…

“It’s nothing.” Corey dismissed, closing the paper bag by scrunching the top and pulling it away from Shawn’s clutches. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“I was gonna ask you the same thing!”

Corey scowled softly, hating how Shawn would always demand answers from him first.

“Just…buying some shit. And you?”

“Just buying some shit.” Shawn reflected with an ironic grin. When Corey didn’t reply and began to leave the store, Shawn followed him. “I just find it weird that…you know, you’re out and about again.”

Corey decided against telling Shawn his true intentions in leaving his home. After watching Sallie arrive at the library safely this morning, seemingly a little distraught, he decided to hang around the city and waited for her to finish. He only had a few more hours to kill. Maybe he could ‘accidently’ bump into her again, and surprising her with the white chocolate he just bought-

Corey shrugged.

“Well, I _do_ go out when I feel like it.”

“But… _this?_ ” Shawn indicated a hand to the paper bag Corey held against his chest. “You _don’t_ do shopping.”

Feeling a little frustrated with Shawn’s public interrogation, Corey began to make his way out of the store, arriving onto the bustling streets of Des Moines. The sun was finally letting up now, the air becoming cooler than this morning. However, the traffic churned the air into a stuffy heat pocket. Once he left the city, he’ll be blessed with the coolness. “So, where are we going?” Shawn asked eventually, never faltering Corey’s side. “If…you’re not busy, we could, maybe, practise?”

Corey slightly cocked a brow at Shawn.

“Mick’s place?”

“Well, actually, it was going to be Joey’s place-”

“I’ll pass.” Came the abrupt reply, and Corey dismissed the conversation. Shawn didn’t like how contemptuous Corey was, and once it came to Joey, Corey always had this air of _hate_ for the poor drummer.

“Hey, dude, c’mon, I know you and Joey aren’t the greatest friends right now, but maybe some time alone could get you guys better and-”

“I’m going to see Sallie.”

Shawn’s words buried in his throat.

“Um…what?”

“I _said_ I’m _going_ to see Sallie.” Corey reiterated, each word firm and determined. He readjusted the paper bag against his chest. “Once she finishes work, I’m gonna ask if we can hang out.”

“Corey…”

Hearing his friend’s harsh tone of voice made Corey glare at Shawn, who was giving Corey an almost punishing stare, a warning. “Dude, not to ruin your plans, but I think you shouldn’t. You’ll come across _too_ needy, and if you want to be her boyfriend-”

“She will.”

Shawn snorted at Corey’s confidence. It was still so alien with the man, and yet Corey only managed to spur this strange new wave of confidence the moment he met Sallie.

It was pleasant, of course, but…

“Dude, you can’t just _make_ her be your girlfriend!” Corey glanced at Shawn, as if saying: _Why not?_ “You’re gonna fuck this up if you’re not careful. Remember Jodie-?”

“She _isn’t_ Jodie!” Corey snapped aggressively, his voice burst out from his mouth and snatched the attention of bystanders, who glanced at the friends in a mixture of concern and disgust. Shawn felt himself flinch without realising, taking note that Corey, despite being shy and awkward, had a sharp tongue, and a big mouth. It was why he chose Corey to be their singer.

Seeing the mute horror in Shawn’s expression, Corey’s temper simmered slightly, but it still remained. “Jodie was all sex. Nothing else. But _Sallie_ , she’s got the thick-ass body, the accent, the cuteness, her kindness…those _thighs_ -” His mouth watered suddenly, making him slightly stick his tongue out to wet his lips.

“Dude, you’re starting to sound like a rapist.” Shawn said bluntly, rolling his eyes. “For fuck’s sake, you’re obsessed with her.”

“I’m not!” Corey’s voice began to growl again, the temper building up in his throat. But he managed to catch himself just in time and added in a low hiss: “I know beauty, and I go out of my way to show my affection for it. And I _really_ like her, Shawn.”

“I’m expecting you to fucking perv through her bedroom window soon…” Shawn sighed, and eventually dropped the conversation, assuming he caught Corey at a bad time for discussing his current situation with his next woman of interest. Though, unlike the others, Corey had intention of something _more_ than fucking Sallie’s brain’s out. No, this time, there was something more deep in this, something more meaningful. “I’ll help you with her, just give it time, she’s still-”

“I am capable of catching a woman,”

Shawn burst out laughing, a genuine tone of mockery in his giggles, making Corey snarl in return.

“Dude, _c’mon_ , you’re fucking _useless_ with women, we know this!”

“But-! But with Sallie, she makes it feel much easier!”

“Yeah, because she’s not a typical bimbo like your other encounters.” Shawn murmured. “She’s a fucking high quality limited edition _woman_ , and you have an _awful_ lot of barricades to break down and trusts to gain before you can even remotely _touch_ her. You can’t even _smell_ her!” Narrowing his eyes, Shawn pressed his finger at Corey’s chest, his voice deep and serious. “Remember who her big brother is, and believe me, you _do not_ want to piss Mick off.”

* * *

Mick _was_ pissed off.

Not even a full day has passed, and he was still loathing under the long black hair and beard. An angry Mick was rather fascinating to look at, like staring directly at a terrifying Norse God, how his lips bunched up to an intense frown, a critical grimace, his icy-blue eyes sharper than ever, like blades of ice that would slice fragments of human flesh should it be touched. His face was of thunder, his stance calm but threatening.

He was leaning against the breakfast bar, his giant hand grasping around his cup of coffee, which remained still within its confines.

Mick was certain Dale was going to stalk Sallie. Some supernatural instinct told him that Sallie was now in danger. He had a second chance in breaking Dale’s face for what he did to Sallie, and that chance was taken away from him because…

Of _her_ …

Slowly, Mick closed his eyes, exhaling a deep growling sigh as the thought of his soon-to-be-wife Barbie came into the picture. He would have easily destroyed Dale in front of Sallie, and she would hold no fucking mercy in her eyes, despite being a sweetheart…it was _Barbie_ who didn’t like violent confrontations… and Mick was forced to hold back because he didn’t wanted to traumatise his little fiancé.

He and Sallie had been involved in _plenty_ of battles during high school, with Sallie oh-so eager to join in, just to have an excuse to _hurt_ someone… She was so _fucking_ blood-thirsty when she returned to school after that week of grievance, it was so bizarre that people _avoided_ her.

The death of her mother was all still too raw for her and battering the bodies and caving in skulls seemed to be the only thing that would ease her from such misery that Mick never dared thought about. He didn’t completely understand how Sallie survived that kind of unspoken misery, the genuine fear of losing a _parent_ was terrifying enough, but she was still here with him, a brighter, better woman. Their childish death battles with other bullying students seemed to have helped her get better and bonded the stepsiblings.

Mick and Sallie were the terrifying students no one dared upset or anger. The Starkey and Hutch, Undertaker and Kane, Bonnie and Clyde…Mick’s built and strength was intimidating and evident, but no one expected the absolute blind-rage that Sallie held behind innocent, bright blue eyes, how _quickly_ she would snap if anyone insulted Mick, or hurt another student. It was as if she was _looking_ for a fight. And between her and Mick, Sallie got into trouble for getting into fights more than Mick himself! She had an uncontrollable amount of rage that she was just ready to hit someone or something if it didn’t look right. And keeping her beside Mick seemed to be the only way of helping her coping school.

He recalled the lessons he had Sallie sitting next to him, feeling her legs bouncing under the table in staggering frustration, her hands grasping onto her skull, face buried into the desk, as if repressing the urges of violence within her, and a simple hand on her arm would reset her back to reality, grounding her back. If he left her for too long, she would lose herself again. Sometimes giving her his hoodie would help, a massive piece of garment that would hold around her small body like a sleeping bag, the hood so large it completely flopped over her face and hid her from everyone and everything, his natural scent in the fabric a constant reminder of him.

It was her own port of call in the disaster she never asked.

For a time, Mick wasn’t sure _why_ he was thinking back to those dark days. Perhaps because he feared that same Sallie would return, and it was triggered by the presence of Dale. After their break-up, Mick was starting to see high-school Sallie returning. She wore no make-up, her eyes naturally dark and heavy from countless nights of no sleep, her hair down and tucked into a black hoodie, and she would reside at any corners of every room she appeared in, lingering around people like a shadow, her presence known but she didn’t wish to be acknowledged, like a ghost. Black jeans, boots, trying to conceal all identity from everyone, like she was genuinely trying to be a shadow, to become a _stranger_.

It took her a few months to start talking again, to start wearing dresses, to start feeling _feminine_ …to _love_ herself.

It pained Mick, always bringing a dark, dense heartache that filled his chest as naturally as oxygen whenever he found Sallie struggling behind a forced smile. She has been forced to grow up fast, pressured to get on with life while all of what she had was a tragic whirlwind of dismay and torture, a lot of self-loathing and the temptation of punishing herself always there, and yet she had time for everyone else around her. Always making sure everyone was okay before her, even when she was at the edge of her demise.

“Mick?”

The voice of Barbie brought Mick out of his graveyard of memories, returning back to the present, and his hard expression softened at the sight of Barbie, her elegance radiating from her lithe presence.

“Hey,”

“You okay? You haven’t moved since this morning,” Barbie swept a hand through Mick’s black beard. “And it’s often dangerous when Mickey is silent.”

Soon, his eyes lost their rage the more Barbie spoke, bringing him back to earth just as he had with Sallie years ago. He can understand, however, how a person can make everything seem a little easier.

“Just worried,”

“About the whole Dale thing?”

Mick shrugged slightly, paused, and then nodded.

“Yeah, though mostly Sallie. I think Dale spooked her.”

Barbie gave Mick a sad smile, understanding his concern. Placing her tiny hands on his wide shoulders, she leaned down beside him and rested her chin on his shoulder, her hands smoothing down his shirt.

“I know. She hasn’t been herself after that.” Patting his chest softly, Barbie added with enthusiasm: “She’ll bounce back! She always had!”

Mick had to admit, Barbie was right. Despite the hell-storms Sallie had to deal with growing up, she seemed to be so resilient in life, seemingly always handling it better than a lot of people. A true survivor.

Just then, Mick’s cell phone buzzed, a single note, meaning he received a text message. And he scooped his phone up, looking at the text and felt his heart sink:

**_I’ll be home a little later. Need time alone. X_ **

**\- Sallie.**


	11. The Tree

The evening was becoming colder now, the warnings of winter edging to reality.

Just after texting Mick, Sallie tucked her phone into her bag and quickly walked down the pavement, her small hands grasping onto the bag strap that hung over her shoulder. The wind picked up strength, blowing coldly against her, her pigtails wavered madly against the prompt gusts of winds, and she squinted against it.

She had turned the other way down her usual route, making her way to her small sanctuary, a little small private churchyard.

Her head bowed down, preventing from anyone from seeing her tears.

By the time she reached the iron gates of the church, she bolted up the dirt path, running through the small graveyard, passing the old church and ran further behind it, further up the ground which extended to a large open field. In the centre of the field was a single, crooked tree, its leaves now finally forming their touches of red at the edges, ready for the fall of autumn.

Sallie had found this place several months ago. In the midst of darkness, she had taken herself out for walks after she broke up with Dale, finding it too difficult to sleep. And so, her idling walks brought her to new and unexplored places.

This place was one of them.

It was isolated away from society, _away_ from people. This was a hidden treasure that Sallie did not dare tell anyone.

The moment she reached the tree, she dropped onto her knees, pressing her face against the trunk of the tree and was finally allowed to weep. Her trembling hands reached for her face, covering her shame from the nature around her as she howled into her hands.

_I’m losing my job…I’m losing my fucking job and I can’t do anything about it!_

It took every inkling of power within the small woman to not cry in front of Liv when she revealed the news to her. But it was when Liv’s lashes began to glitter with her own tears at the looming threat of being jobless, Sallie couldn’t stand it. She had to dismiss herself into the bathroom just to shred a few impossible tears.

But now she was alone, she was able to unleash all of her sorrow without the fear of being judged.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, scorching and stinging at her pores, the heartache riddling in the centre point between her eyes, her throat tightening and her head hurting…

The Library had struggled with funds for a few months, and tragically it has gotten to the point that some members of the Library were forced to lose their jobs. Sallie was one of them.

_But…but I was looking forward in celebrating Halloween! I even got my decorations ready and…and…_

Whining, her hands scrunched up against her eyes, hiding herself from the world, the soil warm beneath her legs and thighs. Deep down, she could feel her heart raging, the already-distilled sorrow Dale brought to her now writhing and returning up, becoming too rich for her to handle, and she sobbed her little heart out.

_I hate this…I hate this…how can I pay the rent? How can I survive? Mick and Barbie are going to lose their home because of me…_

That wasn’t entirely true. Barbie and Mick owned their home, but in the little mind of Sallie, she struggled to believe that everything was going to be okay, that all she ever did was ruin people, was _killed_ people…

_‘Sallie, you were only a little girl when she died…you couldn’t have known-’_

_‘If I had known what she was doing, I could have saved her!’_

Her own bitter words echoed in her mind. She understood what they were saying to her, that a self-inflicted suicide wasn’t her fault…but if she knew, if only she _fucking_ knew at the time, rather than being an innocent, naïve…little child…

Everything happened because of _her_. Sallie grew up with the mentality that she was the blame for everything… and somehow, very little can convince her that it wasn’t true. She was so religiously against the fact that she wasn’t to blame, she was her own hate-group, her own worst critic, she was the mob-leader that wanted to kill her because she ruined her life…

She wanted to love so hard, so much, she wanted to spend the rest of her energy loving someone, but it was already spent on her, wasted her hate on herself.

_I would cherish my future husband…I would fucking worship him…_

_How? You can’t even fucking love yourself…._

Shivering, feeling her body becoming so cold after the sobs, she hugged herself against the soft breeze, burying her face into her arms as she drew her legs up against her chest, and remained still, allowing nature around her to ground her back, to bring her back, to restart herself.

“She’s crying…you need to go and see her.”

“I don’t want to intrude…”

“You either fucking intrude on her and make sure she is okay, or you leave her alone. Cold. Fucking dying alone in that field…”

Corey’s eye muscles squinted against that thought, the very idea of leaving such a beautiful being alone in an isolated field crippled his heart, tightening his throat. He lingered by the old, stone wall of the church, peering over the corner as he watched his goth queen flee into the field of innocence, crumbling against the tree like a daughter to a neglectful father, gaining no sympathy for her tears.

“I can’t leave her alone…” Corey murmured, knowing it was too painful to walk away from such a scene.

“She’s going to think you’re weird, that you’re following her.”

“I don’t care…I just wanna hold her.” Corey hissed to himself, his fingers clenching harder on the stone. “I wanna keep hold of her…forever…”

“Go fucking take her, then…”

When Corey knew he was finished talking to himself, he stepped away from the church and began to walk towards the field. Unlike his little queen, Corey hobbled over the crooked fence instead of opening the gate, walking through the field of grass-blades and maize. Originally, he wanted to walk towards her, as calmly and casually as possible, like approaching a wild deer, not wanting to spook her. But the urgency to make sure she didn’t fade away like a terrible nightmare he had been attacked constantly, his sneakers dug into the earth hard and he was now sprinting towards her, praying that she doesn’t disappear from him.

He ran and ran…running towards the figure of his sobbing goth queen.

The sound of ascending footfalls alarmed Sallie, making her perk her head up to the sound, her black eye make-up now streaking down her cheeks.

Suddenly, a pair of arms swallowed her up, her tearful face muffled against the coarse fabric of a hoodie, and she screamed, her hands reaching for the chest of her grabber and-

“Shh! Shh! It’s me, Sallie! It’s only me!”

Corey.

She seized all movements, recognising the scent of her stepbrother’s new vocalist, recognising the voice, and all of the tremors left her. Instead, replacing it was sheer surprise…

_He’s hugging me…someone’s hugging me…I feel so…so safe…_

The world suddenly couldn’t hurt her.

Tears burnt the back of her eyes again and when Corey felt her arms latching onto his back, holding him with equal urgency, Corey knew she was relaxing, how much she needed this.

Slowly, Corey kneeled down before her, pulling her against his chest without breaking the hug, feeling her little emotional tremors. Sallie shuffled, relaxing in his arms, leaning her body against him, and Corey was enraptured by this sensation, to hold a physical body of his sweetheart in his arms. A part of him was expecting her to push him away, to deny his sudden appearance and scream.

The other girls did…

But Sallie, as expected, was _far_ more different than they were.

Nestling against the tree, Corey held onto Sallie, his face pressed into her hair, slowly breathing in her scent, inhaling as much of her as he could, wanting to fill his lungs entirely of just _her_. She was better than oxygen.

And for a long time, they remained like this. No words, no sounds, the sobbing eventually calm down into nothingness, and Corey soon found himself leaning against the tree with a beautiful woman against him, her weight pressing onto him, the sensation of _reality_.

His hand brushed against her arm, a comforting stroke of solace, easing the shakes.

Eventually, Sallie spoke, her voice small and delicate.

“How did…you find me?”

“I saw you…” Corey whispered back, partly being truthful. “I saw you running and followed you…wanted…to make sure you were okay.”

Sallie sniffed, using her thumb to wipe her tears away, finding black make-up smearing her thumb, and sighed to see how much of a mess it was. Corey tutted at the tragic sight of his little goth queen, pulling his sleeve over his hand and lifted it, delicately rubbing the thick fabric against her wet cheeks, rubbing the tears away, trying to clean off the black mascara that streaked down her porcelain face. He wanted to clean her up, wanted to make her back to perfection…but if she didn’t smile…it would be a wasted effort.

He watched his little queen frown at his actions, like a little princess reluctant in the help that was given to her, but he knew that she wasn’t angry or upset with him, just embarrassed.

“Why…”

Sallie looked at Corey again, her eyes softly tinted with red from the rawness of her heartbroken tears. Corey stalled, losing his words in the horror of seeing her, how terribly fragile and beautifully broken she looked, how her black eye makeup stained down her cheeks…

Somehow, Corey found his gut tightening at the way she looked, something about her breaking consensually. She would weep tears of _joy_ and absolute satisfaction because of _him_. 

Corey’s gaze held onto Sallie for a long moment, and for a time Corey had forgotten that she had spoken. Something in just the _way_ she looked just…

“Hmm?” His brows lifted in question, realising where he was, and that he was being spoken to. Sallie blinked fresh tears, and looked away.

“N-Nothing.” She sniffed, trying to stop crying.

“Why are you crying?”

Suddenly, Corey’s face was very close to hers, his breath brushing against the shell of her ear, and Sallie found herself slightly leaning away from him instinctively, just to gather space.

“It’s…it’s been a bad day.”

“A bad day, huh?”

The deep rumble of his bass-heavy voice soothed the hurt that was stinging the end of Sallie’s nerves, and she wanted him to talk more…and more…

“Y-Yes…”

Then he whispered, his lips vaguely brushing against her hair:

“Why? Talk to me.”

Sallie looked at Corey and her nose tapped against Corey’s, the urgency to take his lips in her own just _there_ -

She hung her head, closing her eyes mournfully as she held back the wish in kissing a guy she found herself becoming attracted to.

_Too soon. Too desperate._

“I’m…” A deep shuddering sigh, the very thought of explaining herself a little too painful for her to bear. “My _fucking_ ex-boyfriend found me this morning…”

Corey felt himself wince to hear such a disgusting harsh word leave his sweetheart’s glossy lips. He wanted to press his finger against her lips and hush her calmly, never wanting her to be angry.

Just sweet, cute, soft, innocent, _pure…_

“What happened?” Corey asked gently, his words hinted with a subtle snarl of warning. The very _mention_ of this infamous ex-boyfriend he loathed already just causing him to bristle slightly.

“He came knocking at my door and acted like _nothing_ happened. He was crawling back to me, wasn’t he?”

“You took him back?” Corey piped up, a little too harshly, and was relieved when Sallie shot him a glare of offence.

“Don’t be stupid.” She pouted, and caught herself a moment too late, a hand lifting to her mouth and she turned away. “I’m…sorry. It’s just-”

“No.” Corey’s fingertips touched beneath Sallie’s chin, and with the softest motion, he coaxed her to look back at him, showing that she should not fear in expressing her emotions to him. “It’s okay. You’re mad…I understand.”

Sallie didn’t pull her head away from him. Instead, she eased there, her head poised at the tips of his fingers. She shut her eyes.

“Mick frightened him off, but he still bothered me…I thought I was moving on from him.”

“Why not get another boyfriend? That’ll piss him off.” Corey asked with a wry smirk. Sadly, Sallie didn’t reflect the smile.

“No. Too soon…it still hurts.”

And Corey’s grin dropped.

“Yeah…”

His hand began to move, shifting from beneath her chin, and he found his palm touching the soft plumpness of her cheek, still feeling the cold path of her tear there. To his surprise, and glee, Sallie didn’t reject his touching. It was like she was giving him silent permission to touch her. And so, he did. His thumb caressing her cheek in a sign of caring, what the couples did on those old late-night TV shows.

It was like they were a _real_ couple…

“I’m losing my job too…”

Corey’s pupils dinted.

“W-What?”

Sallie’s eyes slowly opened again, a fresh line of tears brimming her thick lashes.

“The library can’t keep us all…says they’re not getting the funds anymore…so they have to let some of us go.” She shut her eyes again, tightly. “I’m one of them, and so is Liv.”

Corey stared for a time, watching as the emotions began to build up inside of his little goth queen, the little tremors of her delicate small fingers…how her legs scrunched beneath her in a pitiful ball of defeat. “Corey, I’m _scared_ -”

He snatched her in his arms again, the urgency to, as Shawn demands ‘ _be normal’_ , completely left his system, and abruptly he was pulling the little, plump goth onto his body and held her there, rocking her slowly, a hand pressed onto the back of her skull, holding her face against his chest.

For a split second, Sallie resisted, perhaps a little alarmed by the agility of the man’s grasp, how possessively he held onto her, but she quickly relaxed and buried her face into the warmth of his hoodie, her small hands bunched up on his chest.

“I will fix this…” Corey murmured. “I will fix this…”

Sallie didn’t understand what he was chanting, but the deepness of his tone was soothing enough to help her leave her worries behind.

The grass blades shivered in the autumn breeze.


	12. Princess

“Oh no!” Shawn exclaimed, shaking his head aggressively. “Oh no! No, no, no, _no!_ ”

“You can’t stop me, Clown!” Corey snapped; his voice tinted with the same sharp-tongue as before. “You’re not my fucking boss!” Shawn could only glance at Corey, as he was driving his best friend to work that evening.

“Yeah, but as your best friend _and_ your fucking _Love-Guru_ at this point, _do - not - fucking – do - it!_ ”

“She _needs_ a job, Crahan! I can’t just _let_ her be jobless! She’s worried about her home and family! I…” Corey’s brows softened, a brief image of a destroyed little woman lying on the streets, tears in her eyes, blood on her ivory skin, brutally beaten up and raped in the alleyway-

Corey got angry _very_ quickly. “I’m _not_ fucking letting her suffer!” Shawn’s hands clenched the steering wheel.

“Dude, stop fucking shouting!” Shawn shouted back; his eyes huge with horror. “Fuck sake, dude, you’re like a fucking woman on her period with these damn mood-swings!”

“I am _not_ letting her live on the streets and-and get _fucking raped_ by hobos!”

Shawn blinked at that comment, a little taken back by such a graphic image. And in an abashed tone, he replied:

“Corey…relax…”

When Corey shot Shawn a hard glare, Shawn knew that Corey would do no such thing. Instead, he continued to focus on the road. “Sallie is not getting kicked out from home, okay? Mick isn’t a dick like that.”

_But what if he is…?_

Spitefully frowning, Corey folded his arms in a vile temper and glared at the window, the skies becoming a duskier blue, the evening slowly dripping its way into the sky. The night was coming sooner than usual, the wintry seasons edging its way to Iowa.

For the rest of the journey, Corey didn’t speak, and Shawn felt the need to keep his mouth shut. There was no point in talking to such a stubborn man like Corey, particularly when he was having one of his tempers.

Once they reached Corey’s workplace, Shawn took a deep sigh, looking back at Corey just as he snatched the door handle and opened it, having no intentions in bidding Shawn goodbye. These kinds of tempers were vile, and Shawn found it easier to not speak to him at times.

Shawn leaned over his seat as Corey stormed out of the car.

“I’ll pick you up-”

“I’ll be fine.” Corey snarled without looking, slamming the door shut and was only muttering as he walked away from Shawn’s car. “See you at band practise.”

Shawn had to admit, watching the way Corey paced away from him like that brought a small stirring of annoyance to the Clown, and he felt an inkling of grabbing Corey by the dreadlocks and demanding an apology…but he pushed that urge aside, knowing that Corey was only having a bad day. He should have expected this, really. When Corey got obsessed with Jodie, he had such terrible mood swings sometimes Shawn was too drained to bother him and his endearments…

…but perhaps because this one hit him closer than just some random red-head, Shawn felt the need to be close and extra vigilant.

With a grumble, Shawn yanked the gear stick in reverse, glaring over his shoulder and drove away from the car park…

Corey practically shoved the door open as he entered _The Adult Emporium_ , and to his surprise there were a few customers waltzing around the store. A couple and a group of young men, who all turned and looked at the furious man, wondering if he caught his wife cheating, or was just disappointed in a purchase and was a very angry customer.

But when he approached the counter to see his co-worker, his boss, they soon realised that he worked here, only to immediately notice the black polo-shirt and dark jeans. His uniform.

His co-worker gave Corey a cynical smile.

“Bad day, huh?”

“Shut it…” Corey growled, tucking himself behind the counter and stood beside his boss, who slowly turned to face him, leaning on the counter.

“What’s up? Girl troubles again?”

The comment was supposed to be mocking, but the reminder of a girl _in_ trouble promptly shifted in Corey’s mind. His icy-blue eyes slid slowly to his co-worker.

“Hey, boss-man, y’know that you said you needed more women on the team?”

“Uh-huh.”

Corey gave him a tight smile as he went completely against Shawn’s commands.

“I know a friend who needs a job. She’s really sweet, and I would appreciate it if we could hire her.”

And when his boss smirked again, a mixture of lewd and interest, he replied:

“Bring her in tomorrow, dude. I’ll give her a quick interview and we’ll see what happens.”

Corey’s eyes lit up in glee, knowing for sure that Sallie would easily be granted a position in this run-down dead job.

“Thanks Dale.”

Dale smirked arrogantly.

“No problem.”

* * *

It was about time Corey fixed his car. The next day he decided to bring it to the garage, and the repaired cost him a few hundred dollars, which he only had to spare, but that was okay. Should tonight go well, he’d practically _live_ at work if Sallie could join his team.

While his car was undergoing some repairs, Shawn picked him up and brought him to Mick’s house.

Shawn spied how much of a better mood Corey was in today, seemingly more talkative and chirpier when the Clown picked him up. Perhaps a boring day at work gave him something to think about, as well as, no doubt, an entire night of masturbating to dumb pictures of women he could never date…

Probably because they were going to Mick’s place, which could only mean-

“So, have you thought about your mask yet?” Shawn asked suddenly, pulling the car around the tight corner, entering Mick’s street.

“I have, actually!” Corey beamed, a grin stretching his lips. “I thought latex. I love that shit.”

“Like a gimp mask?”

“Uh…I guess.” Corey snorted, waving his hand madly. “I want to incorporate my feelings and inner-self into it, so I have to think this design hard and long.”

“I’m sure you’ll find something. Just give me a call, I’m sure Joey can make it-”

Corey’s smile dropped immediately.

“I’m making it myself.”

“Fine, fine,” Shawn huffed, pulling the car towards the drive. He hesitated, however, noticing a few vehicles already parked over the drive, leaving Shawn’s car for the road. He was okay with that. “Damn, the bastards beat me to it!”

Corey didn’t reply. He wasn’t listening. His attention was instantly on-

_Oh, for fuck’s sake…_

Shawn only just noticed the little goth woman standing at the front garden, close to the white picket fence. In her small hands was a little watering can, sprinkling cool water onto the bedded lines of flowers that framed the small front garden.

Something told her to look up, and when she did, her eyes caught onto Corey, seeing his handsome face leaning against the window, his nose pushed against the glass, looking like a child staring at a theme park for the first time.

It was rather cute, actually.

Sallie gave Corey a small, defeated smile. She seemed a lot more exhausted than usual, the last few nights being sleepless. Today she wasn’t wearing a skirt, seemingly giving off his aura of fear and low self-esteem. She donned black shorts today, with equally black tights beneath them, hiding her milky thick thighs, and a simple black tank top. She didn’t bother with the make-up at the moment, only applying eyeliner to her features. No pigtails either…her hair in a simple ponytail, like she wasn’t even _trying_ to make herself feel pretty.

This broke Corey’s heart.

Corey had studied her for a while now, noticing these little differences. Someone had taken her royal gowns off…someone had removed her crown and destroyed it before her, and now all she had left was a ruined kingdom she had given up keeping hold of.

That bothered him, so very much. Of course, she did come across as shy yet adorable, but now she radiated this sense of ‘DON’T LOOK AT ME’.

“Dude!”

Corey promptly snapped out of his daze, looking back at Shawn who was impatiently waiting for him to get out of the car. Scrambling at the door, Corey attempted to get out of his seat, not realising his seatbelt was still attached, and it yanked him back into his seat as he emitted a strange, choking noise.

Sallie watched, and hearing such an alien noise sounded weirdly comical to her, and Corey made her laugh. He actually _made_ her laugh by not even trying, by just plain stupidity.

Normally, being mocked for his errors would always anger Corey. But just to see her smile yet again, he would happily throw himself into a train if it would ever make his goth queen laugh.

His Goth Queen…she was but a little pauper without her glistening gowns and her beautiful thorn crown.

_I will get your crown back, my Queen…I fucking PROMISE you…_

Unbuckling his seatbelt, not realising Shawn had slapped a palm into his face at his stupidity, Corey finally got out, allowing the Percussionist to lock his car and make his way up towards the front door. As expected, Corey hurried to the picket fence opposite Sallie, leaning onto it gently.

“Hey,” He breathed, and Sallie looked up with such overwhelmed eyes.

“Hey. How are you doing?”

“Okay.” Corey replied, quickly changing the subject. “You?”

It was only yesterday that Corey found Sallie crying behind the church, and he was certain that she wasn’t going to be feeling any better since then, but he wanted to ask.

“Still…not quite there.” She whispered softly, aware that Shawn was watching them. Corey noticed her wariness, and he turned to the Clown, who was clearly watching Corey like a hawk, not wanting his best friend to make a dumb move on clearly a vulnerable Sallie.

“I’ll meet you inside, Shawn,” Corey called, outright dismissing his friend. Knowing that he had an audience, and not wanting to rouse suspicions, Shawn complied.

“Don’t do anything dumb,” Shawn replied firmly, stepping inside the house, and finally Corey was left alone with Sallie. A small niggly sensation told him that he was still being watched, but he ignored it and focused on making Sallie better.

Corey faced the distraught little goth.

“Does your bro know?”

“No…and I don’t want him to. He’ll be disappointed in me.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t even hold a job…”

“Hey,” Corey hushed, reaching over and grabbing her small, pale hand, lifting it to his chest. It felt soft yet cold. Poor thing. “Hey, listen to me…it’s _not_ your fault, okay?” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “You didn’t lose it because…you were bad or anything…”

Sallie’s eyes dropped to the floor, away from Corey, clearly not agreeing with him. Corey hesitated for a time, not entirely sure what to do right now, but then he smiled. “Sal, I’ve got work tonight, and I’ve spoken to my boss…I know…it’s not the greatest place to be, but he’s up for hiring you.”

Her pretty cobalt eyes looked up at Corey, wide with surprise.

“What, really?”

“Yes,” Corey nodded enthusiastically. “He said to bring you over to my shift tonight to have a quick interview, but we _need_ more people, so I doubt he’d reject you. Because…it’s such a dirty business, not a lot of people want to work at…y’know, a sex store…”

“I don’t care.” Sallie whispered, and Corey felt his chest warm up when her little fingers wrapped around his hand, holding his hand back. “Any job is better than no job. Des Moines has nothing.”

“I know,” Corey agreed, his other hand grabbing onto hers, holding them together. “I’ll train you. I’ll keep you safe, I _promise_ you my queen…” His pupils dinted when he realised what he said, seeing Sallie cocking her head to the side, her brows furrowed softly in confusion.

“Queen?”

Corey swallowed hard, shaking terribly now, seeing his chance with this goth angel gone.

“Would…would Princess be better?”

When he studied Sallie for her reaction, he was surprised to find her smiling ever so gently. It wasn’t a mocking, sympathetic one, one that screamed ‘Aww, you poor, desperate little thing…’. Instead, she was smiling _because_ …

“No one…called me anything like that before.” She said, her voice cute and shy. “I…I like it…I like Princess.”

Relief flooded on Corey’s face, the little colour returning to him, and he sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry, that was awkward-”

“Nonsense…I like it.” Sallie reassured, pulling his hands to her chest and held them there. “I never get to be called such things before…it’s a nice change.”

An adoring smile tugged at the end of Corey’s lips, and his grip on her hands tightened, his palms pleasantly warming her small hands.

“I can…I can call you Princess?”

Sallie giggled softly, nodding.

“I mean, _Sally_ is Hebrew for Princess, so…” With a quick, cute shrug, she added: “You can. I like it.” She pulled Corey’s hands to her face, pressing her face against his knuckles, and Corey waited for her to kiss him, his heart racing in anticipation.

“Sallie!”

Suddenly put off, Sallie moved his hands away and looked over her shoulder, seeing Joey standing by the door, his skinny hands on his hips. “Tell dickhead to hurry up, we’re waiting for our singer.”

Corey shot a poisonous glare at the little drummer.

“Go on…” Sallie mewed, bringing Corey’s attention back onto her. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

His heart sank when she released his hands, and they dropped, falling away from one another.

“It’s okay,” Corey whispered, seeing that Joey was watching by the doorway from the corner of his eyes.

_Little brat, I’ll fucking END you…_

“I’ll catch you later, Princess.” Corey murmured, wanting to kiss her farewell so terribly, but resisting the urge, he backed away from the picket fence and began to walk up the pathway towards the front door, leaving Sallie to continue watering the little plants, her smile dropping.

“You touch her like that one more time and I’ll fucking break your kneecaps…” Joey hissed as Corey approached him, and the vocalist glared down at him, seeing his ivory-skin matching his Princess, and found it staggeringly hard to believe that they were not related.

“Fuck off, little bastard.” Corey grilled, barging past Joey and hurried down the house, towards the garage where the rest of _Slipknot_ waited.


	13. Healing

“Sallie hasn’t been herself lately,”

Corey heard the burly guitarist speak as he walked into the garage, his cold eyes glancing at Mick and Shawn.

Shawn was playing dumb, of course, only to make sure Sallie didn’t get thrown into trouble.

“Have you spoken to her?” Shawn asked.

“Not yet, she’s been out or hiding in her room.” Mick sighed, shaking his head. “That moron worries me. I think her ex has done something.”

“What did he do?”

Mick and Shawn looked up at Corey, a little taken back that the vocalist was listening in on their conversation. Corey knew what the ex-boyfriend did, but the more information he can gather over this bastard, the better.

“He just came by and spooked her.” Mick murmured, a little grumpily, his steely-hockey mask swinging between his fingers casually. “Acted like they were still together and shit. I think she’s worried because he now knows where she lives.”

“But she’ll be safe.” Joey piped up behind Corey, giving their vocalist a nasty smile as he walked past. “She has _Mick_ to look after her.”

“Why not we just torture him?” Paul snorted from the corner of the garage with Chris and Sid. “Find out where he lives and just scare the shit out of him. He’s not getting away with upsetting our little Sallie.”

 _My fucking Princess…_ Corey thought hotly, envy churning in his lower stomach.

“Nah, can’t be assed doing shit like that.” Jim murmured, walking across the garage to gather his equipment. “He’s not going to get Sallie back, and that’ll be torturous in itself.”

“Unless Sallie is stupid enough to date him again.” Sid said softly, in no way being nasty, just pointing a possibility out.

“Sallie’s not fucking stupid.” Corey growled at the youngest member of the band, glaring hatefully at the DJ.

“Why not one of us pretends to be her boyfriend?” Chris sniggered, the very thought of annoying a little piece of shit like Dale greatly amusing him. “ _I_ don’t mind volunteering to be her pretend-boyfriend if it pisses asshole off.”

_No, I’ll be her fucking boyfriend-!_

“Okay guys, enough,” Mick boomed softly, his tone tired. “As funny as it would be, let’s not waste more time. We have band practise.” Waving his hand at his friends, he faced Shawn. “Shawn’s got a few songs,”

“Yeah,” Shawn added. “Corey helped me write a few of them. I think you guys will like them.”

“Okay,” Jim said, lifting his guitar straps over his shoulders. “Let’s do it.”

Corey felt a little left out, considering he didn’t have a mask on yet. But he was determined that, whatever mask he may create, will be the greatest of them all, the most memorable. His microphone was connected to a single speaker, looking like a kiddie karaoke machine. He felt a bit stupid, but it was a microphone at the end of the day. It was all Shawn could afford at the moment.

Their first song was a song that was already sung by their last vocalist, so Corey had some sort of guidelines in what to sing. The grim guitars and harsh drumming filled the garage, making the steel pipes and door vibrate against it, the deepening bass compliment the music all around it.

_Skin Ticket._

Corey was trying to get into the music, his feet tapping and jumping on the stone floor, his throat growling softly, warming up. He knew he was going to be screaming his heart out.

This ex-boyfriend…he was certain that he was the absolute reason why Sallie was so deprived of life, why she was so sad. And it pissed him off.

He needed to find out this bastard, needed to find him to torture him, to hurt him, to make him bleed, to kill him-

Suddenly, an almighty bellow escaped Corey’s throat as he screamed in timing with the music…

…Sallie looked up unexpectedly from the small flowers she was tending to. She could hear the music blaring from her house, which was completely normal, but what she wasn’t expecting was the almighty roar of what she almost assumed to be a cry from God.

She stood up quickly, and faced the door of her home, knowing it was coming from the garage. And her heart fluttered in a mixture of surprise and intrigue when she heard more screaming, the brutal roars of a man in agony and hatred.

For someone like Sallie, it was a cry she too understood. No one would expect such an innocent looking little lady to be enticed by such a noise. The music was just beautiful, but it was the brutal roars from…

 _Corey_ …

It sounded just as if Corey took all of her agony that was building from her chest and allowed the agonizing scream to rip his own throat rather than hurt her…

To the typical residents of Des Moines, it was a disgraceful horrible noise that shouldn’t even be created, but for people who have suffered greatly, like Sallie, it was immediately a comforting call of company.

Taking the empty watering can from the floor, Sallie approached her home, edging closer to the heavy live music, adoring how _raw_ and ruthless it sounded.

She softly walked down the hallway, past the kitchen, and to the garage. The door was closed, and normally she wouldn’t dare open it unless no music was coming out. She had always respected her brother’s peace with his band, but right now, she wanted to be in that room, she wanted to experience this raw sensation that Corey and his new bandmates emitted.

Sallie opened the door, and the brilliant blaring sound of heavy metal burst through the door, her ears instantly engulfed with the incredibly loud music.

Luckily for her, no one noticed her opening the door.

The nine members stood in the circle of the tight garage, with Corey in the centre. He was headbanging, screaming and howling down the microphone, his dirty-blond dreadlocks whipping in the air from his aggressive headbanging. Strumming their instruments, Jim, Mick and Paul swayed their heads to the music they created. Chris and Shawn were fighting against their massive steely drums, slamming their batons hard onto it.

Sallie kept herself tucked by the door, listening to the music, closing her eyes as she allowed the destructive sounds destroy all hurting.

Corey sang…so mesmerising, and to herself, she mouthed the words. She knew this song too. It was Mick’s favourite so far.

_“Zero and zero, is nothing but zero, and cancer and people conspire together…_

_Running and running, and going forever, Collected and sampled, starving for zero…_

_Come see my cage, built in my grain…Come see my cage…built in my grain…”_

He continued to scream the lyrics, his voice becoming huskier and harsher, each word he murmured in a trembling growl send a shiver to Sallie. Her hands squeezed the door-handle harder, watching with huge, fascinating eyes.

It was unusual, watching a bunch of men in the garage raging and bouncing and screaming, headbanging, simply going wild within the confides of a garage. How savage and feral it seemed, and yet Sallie couldn’t stop watching. The surge of energy between them all…

Corey had always seemed to come across as the soft, sensitive type when he was around her, so to see him acting so harsh and vicious…

Sallie swallowed hard.

She carried on watching them in silence, her heart racing, her own urgency to just jump in and head-bang with them came to her, but she held back, not wanting to distract the band. They were working, after all. And in the depths of their own music and brutal lyrics, they didn’t seem to realise she was still there, watching. Corey stomped the floor, roaring more through gritted teeth, unleashing this absolute terrible monster that he had been keeping in inside, and Sallie watched his body language, swept by such a display.

It is true what people say, watching a band live was always _so much_ better!

For a few more minutes, she watched in mute fascination, shaking in anticipation and glee…

Tears began to fill her eyes, and she couldn’t stop them. She didn’t understand why! She tried her hardest to hold them back. No, the music did not scare her, it didn’t offend or hurt her. If anything, it acted like a catalyst for all of the pent up tempers and sorrows she had been holding back the last few days. The music found its way inside of her prison of emotions and effortlessly unleashed it, allowing her to vent it off without any power of holding back.

She didn’t understand this…

All of a sudden, it was _okay_ to cry.

The music eventually softened into a halt, the band members closing their eyes in memory of their brilliant creation, taking a second to rest-

The sound of soft clapping emitted by the door, and they all turned to see the little goth clapping her hands at their performance, tears streaking down her cheeks, black inky smears trickling down her face.

“I loved it…” She whispered, unable to stop herself from weeping.

Corey blinked to see her crying, his heart stopping. Did his screaming make her cry?

_Fuck, no! No no no no!_

“Sal,” Mick gasped, immediately stepping towards her and placed a meaty hand on her shoulder. “You okay? What’s wrong, why are you crying?”

The rest of the band mates watched in confused silence, hearing the little goth sniff.

“Your music…it helped…” She whimpered, her voice fragile.

“Sallie,” Corey whimpered, quickly approaching her and grabbed her hand, looking down at the sobbing princess. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“You didn’t.” Sallie said in a small voice, wiping her tearful lashes with the back of her hand. “You didn’t, I promise you…it just…spoke to me…” She shook, taking a deep, shuddering sigh. “Your music is so wonderful, guys…I think it’s going to help a lot of people…”

Paul and Joey exchanged glances, but Jim smiled softly.

“Thanks, Sal. We appreciate it.” He reassured.

After a moment, Sallie looked up at Mick with huge, tearful eyes.

“Mick, I need to talk to you, please…”

“Sure thing…” Mick murmured, removing his guitar from his shoulders and handed it to Corey, giving him a small nod as he brought his little step-sister into the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

“Wow…” Chris murmured eventually, leaning against the wall. “I didn’t…think…”

“I get it.” Joey said with a gentle smile. “Music can _really_ hit someone, and I guess that’s what happened. Now, if you think about it, she’s going to talk to Mick about what was eating her alive.”

“So, in a sense,” Shawn piped up. “We helped her, like she said.”

That gave Corey some relief. The last thing he would ever want was to upset his little Princess. So, his screaming and singing and their type of music helped her…

“Thank fuck…” Corey groaned, slowing closing his eyes.

“Sal…” Mick whispered, taking her to the living room. He coaxed her to sit down, but she shook her head.

“Mick, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you…”

“You didn’t, you idiot.” Mick snorted, placing his hands on her arms. “Talk to me. Something has been bothering you…”

He waited patiently for his little sister to speak, who tilted her head to the side for a time.

“It’s…a number of things, really…” She began, her eyes searching for the easiest thing to talk about first.

“Is it Dale?”

“He didn’t help…” She admitted. “He’s been bothering me now, I can’t stop thinking about him…as in _why_ he’s suddenly back? I don’t want to see him again, I don’t want to be near him, and I’m scared that he’ll do something to us.”

“He won’t.” Came the determined boom from the giant guitarist. “Even if he fucking tries it, I’ll finish him.”

Sallie made a small noise of agreement, looking down, a tiny smile pulling at her lips. “There’s something else also…” She looked back at Mick, knowing that she cannot hide it all from him. “I…” She bit her lip softly. “I mean…”

“It’s the library, isn’t it?”

“How did you…”

“Jim told us before…” Mick replied, his voice gentle and kind. “Liv has been made redundant…and I _knew_ you were either mourning for her, or…” He cocked his head to the side, his black hair rolling down his shoulders.

“Yeah…” Sallie answered. “I too am made redundant…” Shutting her eyes tightly, she added: “I didn’t wanted to say anything because I was terrified of disappointing you, and that I didn’t wanted to be kicked out and-!”

“Sallie!” Mick snatched Sallie into a tight hug, knowing she was about to burst into a screaming, crying mess. “I am _not_ my fucking mother! I will _never_ do what she did to you!”

“I’m sorry!”

“Sssh!” Mick hushed her, feeling her tiny hands snatching at his shirt. “It’s okay, I know…you’re scared of being homeless again.” Petting her hair, he kissed her forehead. “I’m not going to do what my mother did to you, I promise you. She’s no longer here…”

“I’m just sorry for losing my job-!”

“It’s not your fault, stop it!” His burly arms squeezed her tighter, hugging her. “Calm down, it’s okay.”

“How can I pay the rent?!”

“When you get another job, but right now, we’re okay! Stop panicking.” Mick hushed her, gently swaying her in his arms. “Barbie and I will take care of it. Remember, you’re safe.”

He felt Sallie sniff against his chest, trembling. But she slowly began to calm down, her tremors going.

“I…” She stopped, and started again. “Corey said he can get me a job at his place…” She looked up at Mick, her cheeks stained with her black make-up. “I wasn’t going to tell you originally but I wasn’t…”

“Hey,” Mick boomed, his voice gentle and deep again, his brotherly tone of voice returning, and it soothed her. “I know he works at a dirty sex store, but you’re old enough.” He said. “So long you’re happy, that all that matters to me.”

Sniffing softly, Sallie let out a sigh.

“Thank you…”

“You’re okay…”

* * *

“You want that lift, Corey?”

“Nah, I’m good thanks. I’ve got my car fixed now.”

Shawn blinked, holding his cell-phone against his ear.

“Fixed? When?”

“I took her in this morning. Turns out one of the pistons was busted, and a spark plug was dead.”

“Hmm, must have cost a bomb.”

“Yeah, it sure did.”

Shawn found it a little weird how Corey suddenly got his car fixed, when the poor thing has been sitting on his drive for the past month. He came across as getting too comfortable from the free lifts from the Clown, but maybe the last few rides of them arguing made Corey realise it was probably best to get his car fixed.

But Shawn couldn’t help but feel like there was something more to this.

“Dude, you sure you don’t need a lift?” Shawn asked slowly, his brows furrowing.

“I’m certain!” Corey piped up. “Look, I’m leaving for work now, but thanks for all of the rides.”

“Yeah, yeah…sure…” Shawn replied uncertainly, and the friends hung up. Shawn didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving Corey alone like that. Something told him that he was giving Corey too much freedom, giving him the chance to-

_No, let’s not think of shit like that…_

Shawn looked down at his Chinese take-out before him, suddenly not hungry…

Little did Shawn know that Corey was already out of the house. He partly lied, having already driven from home and made his way to Sallie’s home. He didn’t wish for Shawn to know, wanting to enjoy this essence of freedom he has without his best friend constantly judging him and monitoring his actions.

Corey stepped up towards the front door, his finger pushing onto the doorbell and heard the little chime. He stepped back, waiting patiently, feeling his heart racing, like a little student about to take his girlfriend out on a date for the first time. He brushed his dreadlocks back behind his ear, his boot tapping the floor.

The door handle jiggled, and when it opened, he saw the vicious glare of Mick, but he quickly relaxed to see that it was Corey. Though the sharp glare from the behemoth sent a spike of panic in Corey.

“Oh, sorry dude, I thought you were that dickhead ex after Sallie again.”

Corey chuckled nervously, trying to relax quickly, not that he was hiding ill intentions or anything!

“No, no, I understand. Sallie mentioned him to me before…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “So, um..”

“Oh yeah,” Mick realised, looking over his shoulder. “Oi, dickhead, Corey’s here for you!”

Corey had to hold back his little remark in telling Mick to not call Sallie such a name, but he knew that it was banter between the two, and so he let it slide. Besides, Corey didn’t fancy getting a fist thrown at his face by someone like Mick…

“Coming!” Came the little chime from upstairs.

Mick waved a meaty hand at Corey.

“You can come in, dude.”

“No, thanks. I’ll just wait here.” Corey flashed a nervous smile, spying Mick’s sudden sceptical glance at the vocalist. For a moment, Mick said nothing. But after a time, he found himself urging to speak.

“Listen, Corey…” Mick murmured, his eyes glancing away for a time, looking so sharp and brilliant in the darkened dusk. “I’ve figured you and Sallie have gotten close. And…it’s nice, y’know.” Mick shrugged. Corey listened, swallowing a hard lump, uncertain where this was going. “As you know, I am her big brother…not by blood, but here.” Mick placed a fist over his heart, his eyes suddenly locking onto the timid vocalist. “She means the world to me. And I would kill to protect her…” A looming threat tainted his words, but it quickly shifted. Was he warning Corey, or providing more information?

“I understand,” Was all Corey could say, his gaze dropping to his dirty sneakers. “She means a lot to me too.”

“Hmm?”

Spiked with fear by the reaction, Corey reiterated.

“I mean, she’s so lovely, and…well…it’s nice to have…someone who is so caring of me, y’know.”

“Shawn has cared for you a lot,” Mick chuckled lightly.

“Yeah, but that’s Shawn.” Corey grumbled. “He makes my life his business…he’s a little overbearing. I’m a fucking man, not a child. With Sallie, she has-”

“Patience, understanding, sweet…” Mick nodded to himself, his eyes seemingly looking up at the sky now. “She’s been through a lot. She has gotten through so much to become who she is today. She still has her faults, but she wasn’t the monster she used to be.”

“Monster?”

Mick looked at Corey, noting the sense of anger in his reply.

“Sallie had a rough life. Her mom died when she was a kid, and when her dad married my mom, my mom then proceeded to make her life a misery because she was ‘someone else’s daughter’. Made her be the Cinderella of our house, and her dad did nothing to help her.” Mick shook his head again in dismay. “My mom was twisted like that, and instantly disowned me when she realised I wasn’t going to leave my little sister behind.”

Corey stared, wide-eyed.

“Shit…”

“All that peachiness of her, all the sweetness…beneath it all can be a terrible wrathful woman, and you know what they say about a woman’s scorn.”

“Um…”

“It’s fucking lethal. That’s what!” Mick laughed. “But keep this between us, okay dude? I don’t think Sallie would appreciate me talking about ‘the old Sallie’. She doesn’t like her. Sallie is quite happy where she is now.”

“She’s beautiful!” Corey blurted out, a little too excitingly, and winced when Mick glanced at him in surprise.

But then the behemoth burst out laughing.

“I know, try telling that to her!”

The familiar creak of the first step of the stairs alerted Mick that Sallie was nearby, and so he turned expectantly to see his little step-sister pacing down the stairs. Just as Corey suggested, she wore a black buttoned shirt, which was clearly Mick’s for it was far too big on her, her sleeves rolled up, looking comically huge on her, black jeans and her typical boots. The pigtails returned, brushed neatly, and she had applied subtle make-up on her face. She had made more of an effort tonight, and she seemed better than before. A little more life returning to those eyes and she was _smiling_.

When Sallie arrived by the door, she flashed Mick and Corey a smile.

“I’m ready.”

“Good.” Mick murmured, patting his huge hand on her shoulder. “Remember, if any creeps touch you, I’ll destroy them.”

“Don’t worry, Mick.” Corey grinned. “I’ll make sure she is safe.”

“You better.” Mick said with a smirk. “Or I’ll kill you.”

Corey forced a laugh, reading the threat clear, but when he faced Sallie, seeing how relaxed she was now made him ease.

“Let’s go,” Corey announced. Sallie bid Mick goodnight and skipped down the steps towards Corey’s car. It was obviously an old car, a Ford Probe, the paint wearing off from the hot, cruel sun, parts of the metal brittle and decaying. But it still ran fine.

Mick studied the massive dint in the side of the bumper, the scrapes of steel on its paintjob.

_You better be a good driver…_

Sallie eagerly jumped into the passenger seat, closing the door and was already buckling her seatbelt on. The car smelt fresh, surprisingly, like it had recently been cleaned. She turned to see Corey getting to his side of the car, his legs tucking beneath the steering wheel. He closed the door, paused, and then faced Sallie.

_I can’t believe I have this beautiful woman in my car…_

His eyes glanced at her thighs, seeing the plump thickness of them concealed in the jeans, how soft they looked resting on the seat of his car.

After a quick glance, he looked back at Sallie, who was already punching his arm playfully.

“We’re gonna be late.” She chuckled. She was fully aware Corey was eyeing her up and down, but she wasn’t fazed by it. If anything, she enjoyed the attention he gave her. It was _nice_.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Corey stammered, immediately twisting the ignition key and pushed his foot down, the car jolting into a shaky start before driving down the darkened road to work.


	14. To Feel Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING, THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS:-  
> +Epic foreplay in the car
> 
> (Yeaaaah, this scene wasn't actually supposed to happen, but these two ratbags just did it, so I let them!)

The drive wasn’t too long, but it was calming, and quiet. Even the Ford Probe seemed to have calmed down. The engine purred instead of rumbling so aggressively. Corey probably wasn’t used in hearing his car sounding so smooth, unless it was the presence of his Goth Queen that calmed his car’s engine down.

As subtly as possible, Corey glanced at the corner of his eyes, making sure that Sallie didn’t vaporise out of sight, like a terrible drug-infused hallucination he experienced once. But she was still there, sitting ever so elegantly in the passenger seat. Her legs closed together, hands on her knees, she watched the darkened roads of Des Moines go by as Corey drove. She seemed so relaxed, so content now.

To think he could make her relax so much…

Corey’s eyes looked at the road, expectantly empty, before he looked back at Sallie again, unable to remove his gaze away from her for too long. He felt this primal fear of losing her, feeling her presence like a warm breeze in the centre of his icy winters. She would melt his snow with her rays.

He wanted to reach over-

A glimmer of red forced Corey to push his foot onto the brake, realising a little too soon that he met up the junction, and he had to stop. The Probe jolted a little forcefully, making Sallie wince slightly at the sudden halt.

The instant the car halted, Corey and Sallie exchanged glances, knowing exactly what the other was thinking, and they shared a gentle giggle.

“You seem nervous?” Sallie asked in a kind tone, her brilliant blue eyes looking up at Corey. The look made Corey’s gut tighten in adoration.

“No! Not at all!” Corey blurted out, trying to play it cool.

“Says the one shouting,” Sallie smirked cheekily, reaching over and placed her hand on his thigh. Corey had to suppress a grunt just from the feeling of a woman’s hand touching him. Immediately, he felt his cock heating up, swelling.

_Touch me closer…touch my cock, please baby…_

Corey attempted to force a natural smile.

It wasn’t natural at all.

However, Sallie giggled, and her hand slipped away from his thigh-

Corey immediately snatched her hand back, emitting a small squeak from the goth. Sallie’s eyes widened, confused, but Corey squeezed her hand gently, trembling, knowing that he had disturbed her.

He slowly released her hand.

“I’m sorry…you make me feel good…” He murmured in shame, tucking his hand back onto the gearstick, grasping it desperately now. His palm sweating, shaking.

The small hand returned onto his, holding the back of his hand, her thumb stroking his flesh soothingly.

“It’s okay,” She cooed lovingly. “I understand.” Sallie’s gaze dropped, shyly. “You…make me feel good too.”

The friends looked at one another, their gazes locked in an intense moment of wonderment. Sallie stared up at Corey, seeing how the shocking bright headlights from the vehicle behind them cast across Corey’s face, bringing one side of his handsome features a dark gloom, and he looked like a brilliant monument.

A flicker of green reflected his eyes, which made Sallie instinctively look to the road ahead, and her dreamy gaze vanished promptly. “Corey, the lights…”

Before Corey could register what she said, the driver behind them blurted their horn, alarming Corey that the lights have changed, and that he was still stationary. Corey jolted, muttering an insult under his breath, and kicked the car into gear. The Ford hurled itself into action, speeding up quickly, throwing Sallie back into her seat.

But she was sniggering at the situation, looking back at Corey, who was intensely staring ahead of the road, his brows furrowed, his eyes looking startingly sharp in the dim lights. He seemed a little angry…

_This fucking world…always against me…always against us…_

Sallie studied the man. The dreadlocks that were tucked behind his ear seemed to have shook out of position, falling over Corey’s brows. He was thinking, thinking so profoundly over something that Sallie had no idea what. She decided to remain silent, however, uncertain if she should speak up while Corey was, evidently, a little annoyed.

Once they arrived at Corey’s workplace, _The Adult Emporium,_ Corey’s black mood seemed to have passed now. Turning the car off, he reclined into the back of his seat and sighed deeply, shutting his eyes.

Sallie waited, wondering what he was doing. But then again, she had a feeling she understood _what_ he was thinking. Corey was simply relishing the moment of freedom before returning to work, a moment’s pause before he began. Sallie had a few of those moments herself…

Again, she reached over carefully, her small, slim fingers quivering as they hovered over Corey’s thigh again. And it lightly pressed onto his leg, feeling the course black jeans there. Corey didn’t open his eyes, but he emitted a soft grunt to let her know that he was aware in what she was doing.

Sallie watched him cautiously, seeing how little he moved.

“You okay?” She finally asked, her voice so small.

“Yeah…just…” He frowned, eyes remained closed. “My boss…he’s a bit of an asshole. I don’t want you to…” He stalled, knowing what he was about to say next was going to be rude and stupid.

“Hmm?”

“He…just…thinks he’s the greatest thing for women…and I can’t…”

_I can’t fucking lose you…_

“You won’t lose me.” Sallie murmured.

That was when a surge of confidence spiked inside of Sallie, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. She didn’t understand it, but she went with it without question. Instincts just told her to _do it._

Corey slowly inhaled to feel the little woman’s hand stroking up his thigh, and very quickly, he realised what was happening.

Sallie pressed her hand onto his groin.

Corey’s heart went cold to feel it there, to feel the unmistakable pressure of a hand pressing down onto his cock. His eyes snapped opened and he looked down, almost assuming it was just another dumb hallucination.

But no. He saw it with his very eyes.

Her pale hand was pressing against his groin.

“Hnng!” He managed to choke, entirely out of shock.

“You’re hard.” Sallie mewed, so casually. But he felt a cute, coy expression in her tone. And she wasn’t lying. Corey had been feeling an erection growing since the beginning of the ride, his balls swelling over subconscious thoughts of fucking this beautiful creature in his car.

And _now_ she’s touching his cock-! Without even a fucking _warning?!_

“Fuck…” Corey whimpered, his hands immediately scrambling at his belt and unbuckling it, opening his jeans frantically and snatched Sallie’s petite wrist, forcing her hand down his pants. Her skin touched his naked cock, and suddenly that amped the heat inside of the car.

Through his dreadlocks, Corey looked back at the little goth girl, his gaze intensive and possessive. Her hand pressed against the underside of his cock, her fingertips touching into the softness of his balls, feeling the bristles of his pubic hair against her wrist.

Sallie looked back at Corey, feeling the immense heat in her hand. Her eyes reflected Corey’s face, how beautiful and huge they were, voids of heaven. And yet, Corey noticed the scars inside of those eyes. She was still hurting…

He felt her fingers slowly coiling around his cock, impulses taking a hold of her, and she lacked self-control for a mere moment, shuffling onto her seat as she tried to lean closer to him.

The seatbelts restricted them both.

_Kiss me…kiss me please…_

That short moment flickered out of existence.

Sallie blinked, realising what she was doing, and she snatched her hand out of his pants as if bitten, sitting back in her seat and she looked away.

“I’m-I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have-! Oh god!” She covered her face with her hands in shame.

Corey unfastened his seatbelt and sat up, grabbing Sallie’s arms and pulling her close.

“It’s okay! It’s okay, I’m fine!” Corey insisted, sweat beginning to bead at his hairlines. “It’s…it was nice…”

“I shouldn’t have just _touched_ you like that!”

“Hey, I ain’t complaining!” Corey cried out, watching the fear of being rejected emerge in her pretty features. “Sallie…please…” He grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face. She wasn’t looking at him. “Sallie, look at me…please…”

Gradually, she did, slowly turning her head, her eyes shimmering with fear. Corey watched her, his expression endearing and kind.

But, in the darkness, she watched as a tainted grin ripped through Corey’s features, a look of a predator honing onto its prey. “Please…” He leaned over, getting on his knees on his seat, looming over the cowering little goth. “I want you…to jack me off…”

“But…but we’re not even together-! I shouldn’t have just done that! You could have a girlfriend, I didn’t-!”

“I’m single…” Corey said bluntly, his tone a little sharp. That hushed the little goth. When she stopped panicking, Corey added in a low, lewd voice: “Did you liked what you felt?”

Sallie swallowed a hard lump, her heart pounding inside of her chest. She wrung her fingers.

“Y-Yes…it’s been a while…”

“I want you to make me feel good, babe…”

Those forbidden words…

Corey was fully aware this was _the number one_ thing Shawn forbid him doing with Mick’s precious little stepsister, but at this point, he didn’t give a shit.

“I want to make you feel good, Corey…”

Corey’s heart leapt into his throat, feeling slightly breathless at such a submissive comment.

His hand reached for her little fingers again, pulling them towards his jeans. “But we’re gonna be late for work!” She piped up, realising where they were.

“It’s okay,” Corey muttered warmly. “I’ll blame it on traffic.”

“What traffic?” Came the nervous giggle. But Corey had pushed her hand inside of his jeans again, feeling his balls dangle from where he knelt, and his cock still twitching in lust. Sallie was about to stop this, but then…

Corey made a noise. A grunt of sexual pleasure, the sound of a manly male enjoying her touch. How her soft skin touched his throbbing cock, and she watched him rolling his eyes slightly, pulling an expression she had never seen before. She didn’t know what it was, but it was _sexy_ , how someone so damn mysterious like Corey could just melt under her touch.

It made her feel sexy for even touching a man desperate for her.

She grabbed onto his cock hard, and Corey huffed, like a primal beast in pain, but she knew he wasn’t in any sort of pain. She ran her hand up and down, tip to base, slowly, feeling Corey’s hot breath brushing against her forehead. He bowed his head down, drowning in this overflow of pleasure his little goth queen gave to him, and he pressed his forehead against her shoulder.

Sallie turned her head to him, pressing her nose into his hair and closing her eyes, smelling his scent, a natural musk that she had noticed from him since the first day they met. She released his cock, only to reach further down and cupped his balls, squishing them against his body as she seized them rather ravenously. His cock pushed against his stomach as her arm reached down, sandwiched between her forearm and his stomach.

Corey yelped instinctively, his head jerking up, eyes flying open.

“ _Sal!_ ” Corey whined, his voice wavering and weak suddenly, and he relaxed more when he heard Sallie complying with their naughty foreplay, hushing Corey gently.

“It’s okay,” She purred, feeling herself getting hot from this. Her pussy was throbbing too, feeling a strange heat building between her thighs, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Not even with Dale. This time, it felt _right_ , it felt perfect. _She_ was ready this time.

Sallie’s free hand reached up for Corey’s face, her fingertips delicately touching his chin, turning his head towards her lips. “Corey?” She said, her voice almost inaudible.

“Y-Yeah?” He shook vehemently, his body becoming too hot.

Without replying, her hand moved away from his face, and he looked down at her in question. He noticed her cheeks flushing a brilliant pink, her eyes looking as if they were about to burst into tears of pleasure, so glossy and glistening. Staring into her eyes made him forget that her hand reached for his other hand, and he frowned at her, feeling her pulling his own hand between her groin. And just beneath the black pants, he could feel a subtle wetness seeping through the fabric. “You’re so wet already…” He whispered in amazement, spying the smirk from the little goth.

“I haven’t…felt this good…in such a long…long time…” Sallie cooed, unbuttoning her own pants and guided Corey’s hand under it. “Touch me please…” She begged. And Corey took this wish very seriously.

Readjusting himself, his legs straddling over his gearstick and brake handle, he pushed his hand under her body, feeling a staggering heat. He knew what he was doing. He had studied the woman’s anatomy intensely. Already, he felt her cotton panties against the back of his hand, his fingers pressing past her erect clit, and Sallie flinched at the touch. But the moment she felt his two fingers pushing inside of her plump pussy, Sallie’s arm wrapped around Corey’s neck and she dragged him down against her chest, a small cry of ecstasy escaping her shimmering lips, and Corey pushed his fingers further and harder inside of her, knuckles-deep, digging as far as he could, feeling the hot, pulsating wet walls of her pussy with a masculine grunt, as if he really was fucking her.

“Fucking hell, Princess…” Corey grunted, his hand now jabbing between her thick thighs, feeling his hand already drenched with her wetness. “You’re so fucking horny…”

“Y-You too!” Sallie whined, feeling the pleasure finally reaching within her, and she smiled blissfully, reclining back in her seat, spreading her legs wider for Corey’s fingering assault. Her hand snatched his cock again and she matched his speed, jacking him off as hard and as demanding as he was, almost replicating their own bodies fucking one another.

The windows of the Ford began to fog up, the heat inside of the car immense at this point, their gasping and panting was all they could hear, the sound of flesh slapping wetly against the other.

Sallie watched through lust-hazed eyes, feeling Corey’s dreadlocks swinging into her face with his fierce foreplay. His balls swung against her hand, Corey unconsciously thrusting into her hand like a dog in heat.

Corey was gone. His mind blinded into this thick, heated mist of sex. He didn’t think of anything else but this absolute pleasure his precious princess was giving him. He wanted to fuck her, fuck her so hard and forever, but he didn’t dare stop this foreplay. His hand was drenched with her wetness, staining stickily at his palm, feeling strings dangle from her pussy, which was engorged and hot to the touch.

_I want to fuck that pussy…_

He felt her fingers grasping at his hair tightly.

“C-Corey…” She whimpered, sounding almost like she was about to cry. Corey blinked.

“W-What?” He grunted between gasps.

“I-I feel…weird? I don’t know, I’m scared!”

“O-Oh! It’s okay!” Corey reassured her, pressing his face into her neck, sweating rubbing against their flesh, making their uniforms plaster against their bodies. “Is it…like…a swelling in your pussy?”

“S-Sort of!” Sallie’s hand snatched at Corey’s wrist, trying to stop him-

Corey persisted, his fingers writhing greedily inside of her pussy, pushing a third finger now, and making the little goth squeal. “Corey! Stop! Please, I’m scared!”

“N-No!” Corey snarled, opening one eye as he pressed his face harder into her neck. “Y-You’ll like it, I promise you!” His tongue ran across her sweltering throat.

_Mine…all mine…_

“Is it an _orgasm_?”

“ _Yes! Yes!_ ”

“It feels…!” Corey’s hand slapped her hand away from his wrist, and it immediately snatched at her own wrist, stopping her from halting him.

“Just fucking enjoy it!” He growled, feeling his own orgasm churning, despite Sallie stopping at this point.

“C-Corey! I don’t-!” Her eyes looked back at Corey, seeing how powerful he was over her, his hand yanking and shaking and bashing against her pussy, his thumb reaching for her clit-

Sallie screamed, thrashing under him. But Corey insisted more and more, too intense in trying to achieve this orgasm for her.

_I will be her first! I will be her first to make her cum!_

His eyes widened, seemingly looking threatening.

Sallie choked his name again, but when her body suddenly seized, a powerful wave of white-hotness flushed through her lower stomach and all up the back of her body, cascading down her chest and returning back up, her pussy clenched hard around Corey’s assaulting fingers.

That was when Sallie squealed again, this sensation frighteningly but incredibly pleasurable. Her legs spread open now, one foot on the dash, the other between his legs.

Knowing what was happening, Corey released her wrist and reached down the side of her chair, finding the lever and yanked it up, forcing the back of Sallie’s chair to lie straight down, making her lie down and Corey knelt over her, hearing her pussy squirting in bliss as she came hard into his hand. Her hands reaching for his shirt and she clenched, her eyes shimmering with tears of unspeakable joy, becoming blind, deaf and stupid as Corey made her orgasm, his sweat flicking over her body.

The noises she was making was _magnificent…_

It was like they were truly making love.

And just as Sallie’s orgasm was subsiding, she shakily reached for Corey’s pants, her hands digging under his jeans and grabbed his cock and balls, jacking him off hard once again, wanting to return the favour.

“I am so close…” Corey grunted, losing strength in his arms and rested his head onto her chest, his hips still up, feeling his goth queen pleasing his cock, milking his balls as if she had done this before.

It’s been years since another woman touched Corey like this…

“M-My turn…” She gasped hotly, and she pressed her lips onto Corey’s forehead, kissing him…

He emitted a roar just like that, ejaculating hard inside of his jeans, begging his little woman to not stop, his shaking wet hands reaching for her face and began to frantically kiss into her neck, making Sallie whine, his hips thrusting into her hands again.

Before they knew it, the pair of exhausted friends finally slowed down. Corey’s hips collapsed onto the little woman in a tangled mess of worn orgasm and heat…

He grasped onto her tightly, hugging her, feeling the little woman shaking so uncontrollably.

That was Corey’s first crime against Shawn…


End file.
